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FROM    THE    COTTON    FIELD 
TO  THE  COTTON  MILL 

A   STUDY   OF 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  TRANSITION 

IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


BY 


HOLLAND   THOMPSON,  A.M. 

SOMETIME    FELLOW    IN   POLITICAL    ECONOMY,    COLUMBIA 

UNIVERSITY  ;     INSTRUCTOR    IN    HISTORY,    THE 

COLLEGE   OP  THE   CITY   OF  NEW  YORK 


Submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for 

the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Faculty 

of  Political  Science,  Columbia  University 


NEW  YORK 
1906 


COPTEIQHT,  1906, 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  June,  igo6. 


Nortooolt  iPrega 

J.  S.  Cushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


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FROM   THE    COTTON    FIELD  TO   THE 
COTTON    MILL 


CD 


PREFACE 

The  author  has  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  in  the  section  described.  While  liv- 
ing in  a  rapidly  growing  mill  town  ten  years 
ago,  the  sight  of  scores  of  wagons  transferring 
scanty  household  goods  from  farmhouses  to 
factory  tenements  awakened  his  interest  in 
the  sudden  transformation  of  farmers  into 
factory  operatives. 

His  interest  in  the  problem  has  cost  much 
time  and  trouble.  He  has  read  everything 
available  upon  the  subject,  has  sifted  and 
compared  dozens  of  statistical  tables,  and  has 
compiled  others.  He  has  visited  many  mills, 
has  talked  with  dozens  of  mill  owners,  man- 
agers, superintendents,  overseers,  and  opera- 
tives. The  children  in  the  mill,  at  school  or 
upon  the  streets,  and  the  parents  at   home 


VI  PEEFACE 

have  not  been  overlooked.  The  teachers, 
ministers,  and  church  workers  in  the  mill 
villages  have  helped.  The  business  men,  the 
officers  of  the  law,  the  farmers,  and  the 
laborers,  black  and  white,  all  have  added 
something. 

Removal  from  the  state  gave  the  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  similar  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments in  other  states,  and  has  also 
afforded  perhaps  a  truer  perspective.  How- 
ever, a  part  of  every  year  has  been  spent  in 
North  Carolina,  and  impressions  and  opinions 
have  been  tested  by  time,  the  great  touch- 
stone of  truth. 

Greater  hesitation  in  delivering  final  judg- 
ments has  followed  increasing  knowledge. 
The  interpretation  of  the  life  of  a  people  is 
no  slight  undertaking.  The  author  cannot 
speak  so  confidently  as  he  would  have  done 
five  years  ago.  Many  phenomena,  apparently 
permanent,  have  proved  to  be  transient,  and 
unexpected  elements  have  increased  the  com- 
plications.    At  least  he  has  written  the  truth 


PREFACE  Vll 

as  the  truth  appears  after  studying  the  prob- 
lem for  ten  years. 

While  the  study  has  been  confined  to  North 
Carolina,  much  is  equally  applicable  to  other 
Southern  states.  Repetition  has  been  unavoid- 
able, since  different  phases  of  the  problem 
have  been  taken  up  in  turn.  Every  effort  to 
eliminate  the  unessential  has  been  made,  how- 
ever, and  many  paragraphs  might  easily  be 
extended  into  chapters. 

The  list  of  those  who  have  given  assistance 
is  so  long  that  separate  credit  is  impossible. 
Especial  thanks  are  due  to  F.  L.  Robbins,  Esq., 
of  Salisbury,  North  Carolina.  His  knowledge 
and  experience  guarantee  the  correctness  of 
the  technical  chapters,  and  his  sympathy  and 
insight  have  been  valuable. 

HOLLAND  THOMPSON. 

TowNSEND  Harris  Hall, 
AprU,  1906. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAOB 

I.    The  Problem 1 

11.    The  State  and  its  People  ....  16 

III.  Domestic  Manufactures  and  the  Begin- 

ning OF  THE  Textile  Industry       .        .  37 

IV.  The  GRqwTH  since  1861        ....  55 
V.    The  Present  State  of  the  Industry       .  74 

VI.    The  Real  Factory  Operative    ...  96 

VII.    The  Operatives  at  Work    ....  118 

VIII.    Wages  and  Cost  of  Living  ....  137 
IX.    Social    Life    and    Agencies    for    Social 

Betterment 162 

X.    The  Development  of  a  Class  Conscious- 
ness          182 

XL    The    Relations    of    Employer  ^and    Em- 
ployed     200 

Xn.    The  Child  in  the  Mill        .        .        .        .219 

Xin.    The  Negro  as  a  Competitor       .        .        .  248 

XTV.    Conclusions 269 


FEOM  THE  COTTON  FIELD  TO 
THE  COTTON  MILL 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  PROBLEM 

When  an  old  state  —  one  of  the  original 
thirteen  —  builds  almost  two  hundred  cotton 
mills  within  twenty  years,  and  also  enters 
largely  into  other  manufactures,  evidently 
a  great  economic  change  is  indicated.  The 
fact  that  the  capital  has  come  chiefly  from  a 
multitude  of  small  investors  within  the  state, 
makes  the  change  more  striking.  When, 
with  almost  imperceptible  immigration,  from 
150,000  to  200,000  persons  are  transferred  from 
the  country  —  perhaps  from  the  very  farms  — 
where  they  and  their  ancestors  have  lived  for 
more  than  a  century,  to  live  in  towns  or  fac- 
tory villages,  and  receive  their  pay  in  wages 

B  1 


2    FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

rather  than  in  commodities,  the  social  changes 
must  be  equally  important. 

North  Carolina  has  been  and  is  yet  a  rural 
state.  No  city  has  ever  dominated,  or  even 
influenced,  any  considerable  portion  of  the 
territory.  In  1900  there  was  not  a  single 
city  with  a  population  of  25,000.  There 
were  only  six  towns  with  iriore  than  10,000, 
and  only  twenty-eight  with  more  than  2500. 
Of  a  total  population  of  1,893^810,  only  17.9 
per  cent,  lived  in  incorporated  towns  at  all, 
no  matter  how  small,  compared  with  47.1  per 
cent,  in  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  Only 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Arkansas  of  the 
Southern  states  showed  a  smaller  proportion 
of  town  dwellers.  Only  12.1  per  cent,  gained 
a  livelihood  by  manufacturing  or  mechanical 
pursuits,  while  64.1  per  cent,  were  employed 
in  agriculture  or  fisheries.  But  these  figures 
differ  decidedly  from  those  of  1890.  Then 
only  13  per  cent,  lived  in  towns,  9.6  per  cent, 
were  engaged  in  manufacturing,  while  69  per 
cent,  were  engaged  in  agriculture.    Since  1900 


THE    PROBLEM  3 

the  percentage  of  those  engaged  in  manufac- 
turing has  steadily  increased,  and  the  transi- 
tion to  an  industrial  society  is  well  begun. 
The  state  stands  third  in  the  manufacture  of 
cotton;  the  product  of  the  cotton-seed  oil 
mills  is  important;  North  Carolina  furniture 
is  shipped  to  South  America  and  South  Africa ; 
and  North  Carolina  tobacco  is  sold  over  the 
world. 

The  state  is  being  influenced  profoundly  by 
the  transfer  of  a  population  by  families  instead 
of  by  individuals  from  the  country  to  the  town. 
Now,  between  an  agricultural  and  an  indus- 
trial population  are  many  points  of  difference. 
The  manner  of  life  is  unlike;  the  opinions  are 
generally  opposed ;  the  ideals  are  not  the  same. 
As  yet  the  division  line  in  North  Carolina  is 
not  sharp  and  clear.  There  is  no  manufac- 
turing section  in  which  agriculture  is  merely 
subsidiary.  Cotton  mills  are  located  in  more 
than  half  the  counties  of  the  state,  and  other 
industries  are  more  or  less  scattered.  There  is 
no    sharply   defined   operative   class,   for   the 


4    FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

workers  in  the  mills  and  factories  of  North  Caro- 
lina were  either  bom  on  the  farms,  or  are  only 
one  generation  removed,  and  the  tang  of  the 
soil  still  persists.  With  the  making  of  opera- 
tives and  artisans  from  farmers  we  have  to 
deal. 

Yesterday  the  mill  operatives  produced  raw 
material  for  others  to  fashion;  to-day  they 
fashion  it  themselves.  They  were  landowners 
or  at  least  land  renters  with  all  the  rural 
independence.  Now  they  work  at  the  over- 
seer's nod,  and  receive  their  pay  in  wages 
rather  than  in  products  of  the  soil  which  they 
have  directly  created.  Instead  of  living  re- 
mote from  neighbors,  they  are  crowded  into 
factory  villages  where  they  may  talk  from 
house  to  house.  They  spend  the  larger  part 
of  their  waking  time  within  walls,  tending  com- 
plicated machines  instead  of  working  in  the 
open  air  with  a  few  simple  tools.  In  the 
country  the  work  was  irregular  and  an  occa- 
sional holiday  might  be  taken  without  appar- 
ent loss.    In  the  mills  loss  of  wages  and  the 


THE    PROBLEM  5 

displeasure  of  the  overseer  follow  any  depar- 
ture from  absolute  regularity.  The  operative 
must  work  every  day  and  the  whole  of  the  day. 

Such  a  radical  change  in  manner  of  life 
must  affect  them  physically  and  mentally. 
They  must  learn  how  to  live  in  towns,  to 
adapt  themselves  to  their  surroundings.  The 
children  worked  on  the  farms,  as  they  have 
done  since  farming  began,  but  here  they  are 
subjected  to  constant  instead  of  intermit- 
tent demands  upon  their  strength  and  en- 
durance. The  mental  activity  of  all  must 
be  influenced;  a  quickening  or  a  deadening 
must  follow. 

Their  social,  religious,  and  political  ideas 
are  undergoing  change.  The  gregarious  in- 
stinct develops  rapidly,  and  solitude,  once 
no  hardship,  becomes  unendurable.  The  reli- 
gious ideas  and  organization  which  served 
the  rural  inhabitant  seem  not  so  satisfactory 
to  the  factory  worker.  The  church  is  becom- 
ing alarmed  to  find  that  it  is  losing  its  hold 
upon  the  factory  population.    Political  unrest 


6         FROM   COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

is  not  yet  general,  but  in  a  few  localities 
the  workers  are  slowly  becoming  conscious 
of  themselves.  Feeble  attempts  to  organize  a 
Socialist  propaganda  may  be  seen.  The  labor 
agitator  is  at  work. 

Those  left  on  the  farms  are  affected  by  the 
withdrawal  of  population,  a  part  of  which 
goes  to  the  towns  for  employment  in  the  vari- 
ous industries,  and  another  part  to  invest  its 
capital  in  trade  or  manufacturing  rather  than 
in  agriculture.  Both  the  churches  and  the 
schools  feel  the  loss.  Neighborhoods  once 
attractive  from  a  social  standpoint  are  now 
lonely.  On  the  other  hand,  the  estabhsh- 
ment  of  little  towns  in  the  fields  and  woods 
around  the  widely  distributed  mills  affords 
new  markets  for  farm  produce.  The  wages 
for  farm  labor  —  for  a  long  time  either  sta- 
tionary or  decreasing  —  rise  because  of  the 
increased  demand  and  the  smaller  supply, 
and  improved  machinery  and  more  intensive 
farming  are  necessarily  introduced.  The 
rural  telephone  and  improved  roads, — both 


THE   PROBLEM  7 

largely  the  results  of  the  increased  commercial 
and  industrial  activity,  —  together  with  rural 
mail  delivery,  help  to  bring  the  country  com- 
munities into  closer  touch  with  the  outside 
world. 

The  negro  also  is  directly  affected.  The 
increased  population  and  activity  in  the  towns 
make  opportunities  for  a  larger  number  as 
servants  or  as  laborers.  Lumbering,  or  rail- 
way construction  and  improvement,  have 
drawn  away  others  from  the  farms.  Those 
who  remain  receive  larger  wages,  or  may  rent 
better  farms  than  was  possible  before.  The 
greater  demand  for  their  labor  brings  about 
greater  consideration  and  greater  intolerance. 
Less  and  less  patience  is  exhibited  toward 
the  worthless  and  the  indolent.  At  the  same 
time,  the  faithful  and  reliable  tenant  or  la- 
borer receives  increasing  kindness  and  consid- 
eration. 

The  increase  of  population  and  wealth  in 
the  old  towns  is  working  many  changes. 
Communities   which   had   altered   Httle   since 


8    FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

the  days  of  Comwallis  are  feeling  the  modem 
mdustrial  spirit.  ''Business"  is  being  exalted 
to  a  position  heretofore  unknown.  A  type 
of  shrewd,  calculating,  far-sighted  business 
man  is  being  developed.  The  ''Southern 
Yankees"  devote  themselves  exclusively  to 
their  work  and  need  ask  no  favors  in  any  con- 
test of  commercial  strategy.  Social  lines  are 
shifting.  Families  which  have  decidedly 
influenced  the  spirit  of  the  community  be- 
come less  prominent,  unless  they  take  part 
in  the  new  movement.  There  are  signs  of 
class  distinctions  based  upon  wealth  and 
business   success. 

The  whole  attitude  of  mind  has  changed 
more  during  the  last  fifteen  years  than  in  the 
fifty  preceding.  The  Civil  War  did  little 
more  than  to  intensify  the  convictions  pre- 
viously existing.  That  acute,  though  often 
unfair,  critic  of  Southern  hfe,  Judge  Tourgee, 
well  says,  "It  modified  the  form  of  society 
in  the  South  but  not  its  essential  attributes." 
Reconstruction   fixed  these   convictions  more 


THE    PROBLEM  ^  9 

firmly.  Now  old  prejudices  and  fixed  ideas, 
political  and  social,  show  signs  of  weakening. 
Independent  voting  is  no  longer  uncommon. 
Only  the  prominence  of  the  race  question 
prevented  a  greater  division  upon  national 
lines  in  1904.  A  military  record  no  longer 
outweighs  all  other  considerations.  Not  a 
single  member  of  the  present  Congress  from 
the  state  was  a  Confederate  soldier.  Com- 
mercialism is  doing  what  bayonets  could  not  do. 

The  ideal  of  success  is  changing.  An  in- 
creasingly large  proportion  of  the  college 
graduates  adopt  a  business  career,  or  go  into 
the  mills  and  factories  to  learn  every  process 
in  spite  of  the  dust  and  the  grime.  The  state 
is  growing  more  like  industrial  societies  every- 
where. Agricultural  societies  may  show  much 
variation,  but  industrial  communities  tend  more 
toward  a  type.  Nevertheless  the  influence  of  the 
old  civihzation  is  felt  through  the  expression  of 
the  new,  and  modifies  it  almost  in  every  detail. 

These  are  the  phenomena  with  which  we 
have  to  deal.    The  task  of  this  paper  is  to 


10     FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO    COTTON   MILL 

sketch  some  of  these  changes  while  in  process; 
to  show  how  this  new  industriahsm  suddenly- 
introduced  is  affecting  the  economic  and 
social  life  of  the  people.  To  make  a  section 
through  the  state  and  study  all  the  kaleido- 
scopic relations  would  require  many  volumes. 
The  most  that  can  be  attempted  is  to  give  a 
general  view,  and  then  to  show  in  some  detail 
the  hfe  of  the  thousands,  suddenly  transferred 
from  agricultural  to  industrial  employment, 
particularly  in  cotton,  and  to  study  how  they 
are  adjusting  themselves  to  their  new  envi- 
ronment. An  honest  effort  to  state,  calmly 
and  dispassionately,  actual  not  fanciful 
conditions  will  be  made.  Only  incidentally 
will  there  be  any  attempt  to  predict  the  future 
other  than  to  point  out  tendencies.  That 
must  wait  for  more  complete  studies.  Few 
similar  investigations  have  ever  been  made, 
and  they  have  dealt,  principally,  with  the 
growth  of  capital  and  the  rise  of  the  entre- 
preneur, rather  than  with  the  development 
of  an  operative  class. 


THE   PROBLEM  11 

Studies  of  other  countries  or  of  other  sec- 
tions have  not  dealt  with  precisely  the  same 
phenomena.  Before  the  industrial  revolu- 
tion, England  was  already  a  manufacturing 
country  through  the  thousands  of  hand  looms 
in  the  weavers'  cottages.  The  factory  system 
first  brought  these  operatives  together  and  fur- 
nished power.  The  first  effect  was  to  drive  those 
unable  to  find  a  place  in  the  new  system  back 
to  the  soil  already  crowded,  or  to  throw  them 
upon  the  parish.  In  North  Carolina  increased 
opportunities  for  profitable  employment  in 
every  line  of  industry  have  followed  the  change. 

The  transformation  in  this  state  is  more 
nearly  Hke  that  in  New  England  seventy- 
five  years  ago,  but  still  with  decided  differ- 
ences. In  1810,  according  to  Tench  Coxe, 
the  value  of  the  textile  products  of  North 
Carolina  in  the  domestic  system  was  greater 
than  that  of  Massachusetts  produced  by  hand 
plus  that  of   the  few  factories  then  existing.^ 

*  statement  of  Arts  and  Manufactures  in  the  United 
States,  1810:  N.  C,  $2,989,140;  Mass.,  $2,219,279. 


12  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

North  Carolina,  induced  by  considerations 
which  will  be  discussed  hereafter,  turned  her 
activity  into  other  channels,  and  as  a  manu- 
facturing state  grew  less  important  for  half  a 
century.  Massachusetts,  aided  by  the  policy 
of  the  general  government,  continued  to 
develop  along  industrial  lines.  Every  im- 
provement in  method  was  adopted.  In- 
creasingly expensive  and  complex  machines, 
often  bought  from  the  profits  from  simpler 
types,  were  installed.  The  plants  grew  in 
size  and  cost,  and  the  amount  and  propor- 
tion of  capital  invested  in  manufacturing 
greatly  increased. 

When  North  CaroHna  again  entered  the 
contest  for  industrial  success,  the  conditions 
of  the  problem  were  different.  The  industry- 
was  firmly  established  in  another  section, 
which  had  the  prestige  of  long-continued  suc- 
cess, controlled  all  the  channels  of  the  trade, 
and  had  a  great  body  of  skilled  operatives. 
Greater  capital  was  required  and  competition 
was  keener.    The  state  had  almost  lost  the 


THE   PROBLEM  13 

traditions  of  an  industrial  past  and  that 
difficult  task;  the  removal  of  an  agricultural 
population  by  families  rather  than  by  individ- 
uals, was  to  be  accomplished.  Moreover,  the 
influence  of  the  presence  of  the  negro  must 
not  be  underestimated. 

Another  factor  of  the  difference  which  has 
its  place,  and  must  not  be  neglected,  even 
in  a  purely  economic  study,  is  the  essential 
difference  between  Northern  and  Southern 
character  and  attitude  of  mind,  —  a  differ- 
ence distinct  from  any  question  of  an  aristo- 
cratic structure  of  society.  What  has  pro- 
duced these  differences  need  not  be  discussed 
here.  The  differences  exist.  The  North  and 
the  South  are  two  countries  with  different 
ideals,  different  prejudices,  different  stand- 
ards. France  and  Germany  are  no  more 
unhke  than  some  portions  of  the  United 
States.  As  a  whole,  the  differences  are  cer- 
tainly as  great  as  those  between  England 
and  Ireland.  Any  attempt  to  form  compar- 
isons   and    judgments    without    taking    into 


14  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

consideration  these  ingrained  differences  will 
be  of  slight  value. 

Little  aid  in  this  study  can  be  had  from 
statistics.  Complete  and  accurate  figures 
concerning  that  portion  which  may  be  reduced 
to  tables  cannot  be  procured.  The  Census 
Reports  do  not  give  those  facts  which  are  of 
most  interest  and  value.  The  Bulletins  of 
the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  are 
not  broad  enough  in  their  scope.  The  State 
Bureau  of  Labor  and  Printing  has  no  power 
to  require  answers  to  its  inquiries,  and  its 
funds  are  so  small  that  canvassers  cannot  be 
employed.  Voluntary  answers  are  the  sole  de- 
pendence. The  questions  necessarily  are  vague 
and  general,  and  even  these  are  often  inac- 
curately answered,  or  are  not  answered  at 
all.*  Manifestly  no  private  individual  can 
gather  full  statistics. 

But  if  figures,  accurate  at  the  time  of  col- 
lection, were  secured,  they  would  be  obsolete 
almost  by  the  time  they  were  printed.    The 

1  Letter  from  former  commissioner. 


THE   PEOBLEM  15 

state  of  the  cotton  industry,  with  which  we 
shall  deal  particularly,  is  dynamic  in  the 
extreme.  New  mills  are  completed,  old  ones 
are  enlarged,  product  is  diversified,  new 
machinery  is  introduced  making  new  wage 
scales,  night  work  is  begun  or  discontinued. 
The  surroundings  of  the  little  mill  in  the 
country  with  a  few  hundred  spindles,  and  of 
the  large  establishment  in  a  mill  center,  vary 
greatly,  and  the  operatives  move  from  one  to 
the  other  with  frequency.  Further,  the  life 
of  a  people  cannot  be  put  into  columns  and 
averaged.  That  noted  statistician,  the  la- 
mented Professor  Mayo-Smith,  in  fact  declared 
that  the  opinions  of  trained  observers  were 
worth  more  than  statistics,  in  estimating  the 
relative  welfare  of  different  communities. 

Yet  underneath  all  the  diversity  there  are 
constant  factors,  tendencies  strongly  marked, 
which  may  be  described  and  analyzed  if  one 
studies  the  people  as  well  as  the  material 
facts.  We  may  be  able  to  say  "how"  even 
if  we  cannot  say  "how  much." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  STATE  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Though  the  first  attempts  to  plant  Eng- 
lish settlements  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States  were  made  upon  North  Carolina  soil, 
following  the  exploring  expeditions  sent  out 
by  Sir  Walter  Ralegh  in  1584,  their  failure 
left  the  country  long  unoccupied.  Meanwhile 
the  Virginia  settlements  were  spreading. 
Soon  after  1650  straggling  pioneers,  induced 
by  the  desire  for  the  rich  land  along  the  east- 
em  streams,  began  to  come  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  state.  The  old  belief  that  these 
early  settlers  were  driven  by  religious  perse- 
cution to  seek  new  homes,  seems  to  have 
little  foundation.* 

In  1663  a  charter  for  Carolina  was  issued 

*  See  the  careful  researches  of  Weeks,  "  Southern  Quakers 
and  Slavery,"  J.  H.  U.  Studies,  extra  volume,  xv. 

16 


THE  STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  17 

by  Charles  II  to  eight  Lords  Proprietors. 
Their  territory  was  extended  and  their  power 
confirmed  two  years  later.  All  the  privileges 
and  powers  pertaining  to  the  bishopric  of 
Durham  were  granted,  and  the  Proprietors 
attempted  to  form  a  province  modeled  upon 
the  County  Palatine  of  Durham.  The  cele- 
brated Fundamental  Constitutions  contem- 
plated the  establishment  of  a  European  feudal 
system,  with  orders  of  nobihty,  commons,  and 
slaves,  in  a  new  country  so  thinly  settled  that 
it  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been  settled  at 
all. 

The  story  of  the  failure  is  long  and  need 
not  be  told  in  detail.  When  the  Crown  again 
took  control  in  1729,  the  province  had  been 
divided  into  North  and  South  Carolina  and 
settlements  had  been  made  along  the  sounds 
and  streams  of  the  eastern  section.  Eng- 
lishmen from  Virginia,  from  Barbados,  settlers 
direct  from  the  mother  country,  German 
Palatines,  Swiss,  French  Huguenots,  and  a 
few  New  Englanders  made  up  a  population 


18  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

amounting  possibly  to  30,000  whites  and 
6000  negroes/  Some  large  tracts  of  land  had 
been  granted,  and  there  was  already  the 
beginning  of  a  plantation  system  which  in- 
creased in  importance  with  the  years.  With 
all  the  mixture  of  nationality,  however,  Enghsh 
ideas  and  ideals  were  dominant. 

Estates  were  never  so  large  as  in  Virginia 
or  in  South  CaroUna.  With  a  few  exceptions, 
660  acres  was  the  largest  grant  made  by  the 
Proprietors,  and  640  was  more  common.  This 
policy  was  in  striking  contrast  to  their  course  in 
South  Carolina.  When  the  Crown  assumed 
control,  the  pohcy  of  small  grants  was  con- 
tinued, though  a  few  large  tracts  were  granted 
for  speculative  purposes.^  As  a  result.  North 
Carolina  became  a  province  of  small  planters 
and  farmers,  compared  with  her  neighbors. 

While  such  settlers  were  filling  up  the  East, 
and  adventurous  individuals  were  making 
their  way  up  the  streams  toward  the  West, 

'  Raper,  "  North  Carolina  "  (1904). 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  108,  109,  118. 


THE   STATE  AND   ITS   PEOPLE  19 

pioneers  of  another  type  occupied  that  sec- 
tion. Soon  after  1830  wagon  trains  from 
Pennsylvania  came  down  through  the  Shen- 
andoah valley  and  settled  upon  the  broad 
stretch  of  territory  included  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Catawba  and  the  Yadkin.  These  were 
immigrants  or  the  children  of  immigrants 
from  the  North  of  Ireland,  the  so-called 
''Scotch-Irish"  who  did  so  much  to  subdue 
western  Pennsylvania. 

When  they  began  to  feel  crowded  there, 
the  overflow  followed  the  foothills  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  and  the  western  sections  of  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  west- 
ern Georgia  received  a  valuable  population. 
Others  landed  at  Charleston  instead  of  Phila- 
delphia, followed  the  rivers  toward  the  north- 
west and  met  the  southern  current  along 
the  Yadkin.  Stern,  adventurous,  religious, 
they  made  ideal  pioneers,  and  from  them 
developed  that  sturdy,  independent  middle 
class  which  helped  to  give  North  Carolina  its 
peculiar  characteristics. 


20  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Their  occupancy  of  the  wide  territory  was 
soon  shared  by  Germans,  also  coming  chiefly 
from  Pennsylvania,  though  some  landed  at 
Charleston  and  joined  their  countrymen  in 
what  are  now  the  counties  of  Davidson,  Rowan, 
Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,  Gaston,  Lincoln, 
Catawba,  and  Iredell.  About  1750  a  colony 
of  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  better  known  as  Mora- 
vians, bought  a  large  tract  of  land  around  the 
present  town  of  Winston-Salem.  This  they 
held  in  common,  and  urged  on  by  religious 
zeal  made  great  improvements.  Small  colo- 
nies from  the  back  counties  of  Virginia  and 
from  Maryland  also  made  settlements  along 
the  Yadkin,  and  a  strong  Quaker  influx  occu- 
pied the  present  counties  of  Randolph,  Chat- 
ham, Alamance,  Surry,  and  Guilford. 

After  the  battle  of  CuUoden  in  1746,  Scotch 
Highlanders  came  to  Wilmington  and  ascended 
the  Cape  Fear  River  to  Cross  Creek,  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Fayetteville.  From  this  nucleus 
they  spread  over  a  half  dozen  counties,  where 
few  except  Scotch  names  are  heard  to-day. 


THE   STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  21 

During  the  Civil  War,  whole  companies  of 
''Macs"  were  enlisted.  A  colony  of  Irish 
direct  from  Ulster  had  been  planted  in  the 
neighboring  county  of  Duplin  in  1730/ 

Further,  in  few  cases  did  these  different 
nationalities  locate  upon  the  same  territory 
where  association  might  wear  away  charac- 
teristic peculiarities.  The  "consciousness  of 
kind"  was  strong  enough  to  segregate  those 
of  the  same  language,  religion,  and  habit  of 
mind.  There  was  little  communication  be- 
tween the  different  settlements,  and  definite 
characteristics  of  the  eighteenth  century  per- 
sisted until  late  in  the  nineteenth. 

In  one  county  the  distinction  between  the 
German  and  the  Scotch-Irish  has  disappeared 
only  within  the  twenty-five  years  just  past. 
The  jealousy  between  the  ''Dutch"  and  the 
"Irish"  side  was  strong,  and  there  was  little 
association  and  less  intermarriage.  Idioms 
and  expressions  heard  frequently  in  one  part 
of  the  county  were  hardly  intelligible  in  the 

1  Hanna,  "The  Scotch-Irish "  (1902). 


22  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

other.  Culinary  processes  were  different.  The 
location  of  the  courthouse,  or  the  struggle 
for  county  officers,  might  be  the  occasion  for 
a  bitter  contest. 

If  there  was  Httle  communication  between 
the  different  neighborhoods,  there  was  less 
between  the  sections  of  the  state.  In  the 
East  were  large,  rich  plantations  upon  the 
sounds  and  confluent  creeks  and  rivers. 
Communication  here  was  easy,  as  few  points 
are  more  than  five  miles  from  water.  Along 
with  the  large  landowners  were  individuals 
to  whom  the  much-abused  term  '^poor  whites" 
might  be  applied  with  more  or  less  accuracy. 
Fish,  oysters,  wild  fowl,  and  game  were  plen- 
tiful ;  the  land  was  rich,  and  the  procuring  of 
a  bare  subsistence  was  too  easy  to  require 
much  work.  To-day  it  is  estimated  that 
two  months'  work  in  every  year  will  enable 
a  family  to  hve  with  some  degree  of  comfort. 

During  the  colonial  period,  English  ideas 
governed  this  section  as  they  did  in  Virginia. 
Even    to-day    those    counties   north   of    the 


THE   STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  23 

Roanoke  River  belong  to  Virginia  rather  than 
to  North  CaroHna.  Pieces  of  old  English 
furniture  and  bits  of  English  china  and  silver 
are  to-day  treasured  heirlooms. 

Back  of  the  rich  alluvial  lands  were  the 
pine  barrens  to  which  the  thriftless  were 
gradually  driven  by  the  inexorable  working 
of  economic  law.  Until,  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  refrigerator  car,  it  was  discovered 
that  this  region  would  bring  large  returns  in 
the  trucking  industry,  the  land  was  of  Httle 
value  except  for  the  pine  forests,  which  have 
been  ruthlessly  destroyed  by  the  demand  for 
turpentine  and  naval  stores. 

Back  of  this  section,  in  the  rolling  Pied- 
mont country,  in  the  district  around  Hillsboro, 
German,  English,  and  Scotch-Irish  were  set- 
tled, and  behind  them  were  the  settlements 
already  mentioned.  The  land  was  hilly,  and, 
except  upon  the  streams,  not  rich,  though 
susceptible  of  high  development  through 
scientific  agriculture.  Intensive  culture  was 
demanded  and  not  a  great  plantation  system. 


24  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

The  extreme  West,  the  mountainous  region, 
was  settled  slowly,  partly  by  the  shiftless 
and  incapable  whom  the  economic  pressure 
of  population  forces  toward  the  free  land, 
partly  by  the  bold  and  adventurous  spirits 
of  whom  Daniel  Boone  was  a  type.  Such 
men,  intoxicated  by  the  sense  of  freedom 
growing  out  of  their  mastery  of  the  forest, 
find  the  proximity  of  any  neighbors  unpleas- 
ant and  go  on  to  seek  new  lands.  The  diffi- 
culties of  communication  have  kept  that 
section  more  or  less  primitive  to  the  present 
day,  and  it  need  not  be  considered  as  an  in- 
dustrial factor. 

In  1790  these  middle  and  western  counties 
were  almost  self-sufficient.  Land  was  plenty 
and  cheap.  Food  was  abundant,  though 
from  lack  of  markets  there  was  little  encour- 
agement to  raise  more  than  could  be  con- 
sumed locally.  The  streams  were  not  navi- 
gable, and  the  rough,  hilly  roads  made  trans- 
portation by  wagon  difficult  and  expensive. 
Each  year  wagon  trains  went  to  Philadelphia 


THE  STATE   AND  ITS   PEOPLE  25 

or  Charleston,  and  later  to  Fayetteville  and 
Cheraw ;  but  only  wares  of  small  weight  and 
considerable  value  could  be  hauled. 

The  domestic  industries,  which  will  be 
discussed  more  fully  in  another  place,  flour- 
ished. Though  there  were  no  towns  of  any 
size,  the  number  and  the  skill  of  the  artisans 
was  such  that,  in  1800,  it  seemed  probable 
that  the  logical  development  would  be  into 
a  frugal  manufacturing  community,  rather 
than  into  an  agricultural  state. 

By  the  Constitution  of  1776,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Eastern  counties  (many  of  which  were 
originally  only  precincts  of  the  first  counties) 
had  a  disproportionate  share  in  the  govern- 
ment. To  the  demands  of  the  West  for  im- 
provement in  transportation  and  educational 
faciUties,  they  turned  a  deaf  ear.  With  them 
both  local  intercourse  and  communication 
with  the  world  was  easy,  and  they  sent  their 
children  either  to  England  to  be  educated,  or 
to  the  Northern  colleges  already  established. 

Naturally,  bitter  jealousy  and  antagonism. 


26  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

which  are  not  yet  entirely  gone,  grew  up 
between  the  East  and  the  West.  The  inhab- 
itants were  different  in  descent,  in  rehgion, 
and  in  habits  of  thought.  The  physical  dif- 
ferences in  territory  fostered  differences  in 
social  and  economic  organization  which  em- 
phasized the  distinctions  already  existing. 

The  Western  section  began  to  strive  for 
the  estabhshment  of  new  counties,  hoping 
thus  to  gain  its  ends.  Sometimes  the  crea- 
tion of  new  counties  seemed  to  become  an  end 
in  itself  rather  than  a  means.  The  whole 
legislative  history  of  the  state  for  fifty  years 
is  largely  comprised  in  this  struggle  between 
the  East  and  the  West.  All  great  questions 
were  pushed  aside  for  the  engrossing  dispute. 
Meanwhile  economic  and  social  interests, 
which  might  have  been  promoted  by  wise 
legislation,  languished. 

Except  in  the  East,  the  feeling  against 
slavery  was  strong  during  the  first  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Manumis- 
sion  Society  was  founded  in   1816  and  the 


THE   STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  27 

name  changed  to  the  Manumission  and  Colo- 
nization Society  the  next  year.  Many  abo- 
htion  societies  were  also  organized.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  Manumission  Society  in  1825, 
36  branches  were  reported,  and  in  1826  there 
were  1600  active  members,  many  of  them 
slaveholders.  The  Nat  Turner  slave  insurrec- 
tion of  1831,  the  growth  of  abolition  societies 
in  the  North,  and  economic  changes  making 
slavery  more  profitable  caused  the  dissolution 
of  the  society,  and  no  meetings  were  held 
after  1834.' 

The  Western  counties  were  also  greatly 
affected  by  the  increasing  importance  of  cotton, 
and  the  number  of  slaves  grew  rapidly.  On 
the  Southern  border  where  cotton  was  a  prof- 
itable crop,  and  also  in  the  rich  river  valleys 
farther  north,  a  plantation  system  developed. 
A  study  of  population  figures  indicates  clearly 
these  changes. 

In  1790  the  population  of  the  West  was: 
whites  136,655;  slaves  30,068;  while  in    the 

1  Weeks,  op.  cit. 


28   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

East  there  were  151,549  whites  and  70,508 
slaves.  In  1860  the  white  population  of  the 
West  was  385,724  and  the  number  of  slaves 
146,463;  while  in  the  East  there  were  244,218 
whites  and  184,596  slaves. 

Thus  the  white  population  of  the  East 
had  increased  61  per  cent,  in  seventy  years 
while  its  slave  population  had  increased  162 
per  cent.  The  white  population  of  the  West 
had  increased  182  per  cent,  and  its  slave 
population  387  per  cent,  during  the  same 
period.  Obviously,  the  West  was  the  grow- 
ing section  both  in  whites  and  slaves.  Fur- 
ther, though  the  actual  number  of  slaves  in 
the  West  never  equaled  the  number  in  the 
East,  the  rate  of  increase  was  much  greater. 
The  proportion  of  slaves  to  whites  in  the  West 
never  reached  the  proportion  in  the  East, 
however.  In  1860  the  slave  population  of 
the  West  was  38  per  cent,  of  the  white,  while 
in  the  East  it  was  more  than  75  per  cent. 
Counting  five  persons  to  the  family,  it  appears 
that  there  were  for  every  white  family  in  the 


THE   STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  29 

West  1.9  slaveS;  while  in  the  East  there  were 
3.83  slaves.' 

One  consequence  of  the  extension  of  slavery- 
was  the  emigration  of  thousands  of  the  small 
farmers.  Tennessee  was  settled  from  North 
Carohna.  With  the  development  of  the 
Northwest  Territory,  that  section  received 
large  additions,  chiefly  of  those  to  whom 
slavery  was  obnoxious.  The  New  Garden 
Monthly  Meeting  (Quaker)  between  1801  and 
1866  issued  245  certificates  to  individuals 
and  famihes  going  to  Ohio  and  Indiana.  In 
the  latter  state  one  finds  names  of  streams 
and  townships  directly  transferred  from  North 
Carolina.  It  is  estimated  by  Quaker  his- 
torians that  in  1850  one  third  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Indiana  was  composed  of  North 
Carolinians  and  their  children.^ 

There  was  also  a  strong  current  toward 
the  Southwest.    Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 

1  Consult  Bassett, "  History  of  Slavery  in  North  Carolina, " 
J.  H.  U.  Studies,  1899. 

^  Weeks,  op.  cit.  See  also  Marryat,  "  Diary  in  America  " 
(1839),  p.  143. 


30  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

and  Louisiana  gained  many  settlers.  Younger 
sons  of  slaveholders,  taking  a  few  slaves 
with  them,  or  non-slave  holders,  made  their 
way  into  that  region  where  fertile  lands  might 
be  had  at  nominal  prices,  and  developed 
larger  plantations  than  they  had  left.  In 
1855,  28  per  cent,  of  the  students  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  were  from  other 
Southern  states,  and  in  1859, 39  per  cent,  of  the 
students  were  from  without  the  state,  chiefly 
the  sons  of  expatriated  North  Carolinians. 

The  emigration  was  at  its  height  between 
1830  and  1840.  During  that  decade  the 
white  population  of  the  state  increased  only 
2.54  per  cent,  compared  with  12.79  per  cent, 
for  the  preceding  period.  There  was  no  coun- 
tercurrent  of  immigration  to  replace  the  loss. 
There  has  been  no  considerable  addition  of 
foreign  population  since  the  Revolution.  In 
1900  the  proportion  of  the  population  bom 
abroad  was  less  than  one  half  of  one  per  cent., 
the  smallest  in  the  Union.  As  a  result  of 
this  drain,  the  relative  rank  of  the  state  in 


THE   STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  31 

population  declined  from  third  in  1790  to 
twelfth  in  1860.  In  1900,  329,625  natives 
of  the  state  were  living  in  other  states,  while 
only  83,373  natives  of  other  states  had  come 
in  to  take  the  place  of  the  emigrants. 

The  migration  to  other  states  left  large 
tracts  of  vacant  land,  and  the  state  became 
more  distinctly  agricultural.  The  old  manu- 
facturing was  incidental  to  agriculture,  and 
the  opening  of  railroad  communication  in 
the  West  after  1850  found  other  states  ready 
to  supply  manufactured  articles  more  cheaply 
than  the  local  workmen  could  do.  Though 
the  cotton  and  tobacco  manufacture  slowly 
increased,  the  home  industry  was,  as  a  whole, 
distinctly  less  successful. 

The  agriculture  viewed  by  present  stand- 
ards seems  wasteful.  Since  land  was  so 
abundant  and  so  cheap,  the  usual  plan  was 
to  work  it  until  exhausted  and  then  'Hum  it 
out"  to  be  restored  by  the  slow  process  of 
nature,  the  growth  and  the  decay  of  vege- 
tation.   One  may  find  to-day  in  tracts  grown 


32  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

up  with  ^'old  field"  pine  and  sassafras  the 
traces  of  corn  or  cotton  ridges  from  which 
the  last  crop  was  harvested  fifty  years  ago. 
Agriculture  became  more  and  more  a  matter 
of  a  few  staple  crops,  and  these  the  same 
which  were  grown  to  greater  advantage  in 
the  new  lands  of  the  Western  states,  or  by 
great  gangs  of  slaves  on  the  rich  fields  of  the 
Southwest. 

Educationally,  the  state  did  something. 
The  Constitution  of  1776  provided  that  ''all 
useful  learning  shall  be  duly  encouraged  in 
one  or  more  universities."  The  University 
of  North  Carolina,  the  second  of  the  state  uni- 
versities, chartered  in  1789,  has  a  long  and 
honorable  history.  Later  the  leading  reli- 
gious denominations  each  established  a  college. 
But  the  idea  that  universal  education  was 
one  of  the  functions  of  the  state  was  slov7  to 
develop,  and  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  grew 
to  be  the  highest  of  the  states. 

A  small  fund  for  public  education  was 
created  in  1825.    A  large  part  of  the  surplus 


THE   STATE   AND   ITS   PEOPLE  33 

distributed  by  Congress  in  1836  was  turned 
into  this  fund,  and  in  1840  a  state  system  of 
public  schools  was  instituted.  In  this  year 
14,937  children  attended,  but  the  number 
grew  by  1850  to  104,095,  a  number  equal  to 
five  ninths  of  the  white  population  between 
six  and  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The 
schools  grew  in  popularity  and  efficiency,  and 
two  more  decades  of  uninterrupted  existence 
would  have  shown  a  great  impression  upon 
the  mass  of  illiteracy.^  Since  the  wreck  of 
the  Civil  War  the  educational  progress  has 
been  marked.  The  public  schools  receive 
each  year  a  larger  proportion  of  the  taxes. 
The  colleges  have  grown  in  students  and  in 
equipment.  Normal  and  technical  schools  for 
both  races  have  been  established.  Institu- 
tions for  the  defective  and  unfortunate  have 
been  improved,  but  the  burden  of  illiteracy 
is  still  tremendous. 
Upon   the   Puritanism   of  the   Scotch-Irish 

lU.  S.  Census,  1850-1860,  and  Ingle,  "Southern  Side 
Lights"  (1896). 


34  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

has  been  grafted  religious  emotionalism.  After 
the  Revolution,  French  atheistic  writers  made 
a  certain  sort  of  materialistic  philosophy- 
fashionable;  but  the  great  revival  of  rehgion 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century- 
swept  the  coimtry.  Camp  meetings  lasting 
for  weeks  and  the  discussion  of  abstract  the- 
ological questions  went  on  together.  Com- 
munities and  families  have  been  rent  by  the 
excitement  growing  out  of  ecclesiastical  dis- 
putes and  debates. 

Conflicting  influences  have  hindered  the 
progress  of  the  state.  Sectional  jealousies 
have  prevented  concerted  action,  and  yet 
there  has  been  surprising  unanimity  upon 
great  questions.  The  state  has  been  con- 
servative and  slow,  yet  has  led,  rashly  some- 
times, in  many  things;  it  has  been  prosaic, 
yet  capable  of  exhibitions  of  sentiment  and 
enthusiasm  beyond  the  ordinary. 

The  whole  history  has  been  a  series  of  para- 
doxes. Restless  under  government  imposed 
from   without,   it  was   quiet   when   the  laws 


THE   STATE    AND   ITS    PEOPLE  35 

were  suspended.  So  penurious  that  every 
Royal  governor  complained  bitterly  of  his 
difficulties,  the  province  built  a  palace  for 
the  governor  which  was  pronounced  the  hand- 
somest building  upon  the  Western  hemisphere. 
It  was  the  first  province  to  declare  itself  inde- 
pendent of  Great  Britain,  and  yet  the  twelfth 
to  enter  the  Union. 

When  the  whole  expenses  of  the  state 
government  were  $96,000  a  year,  the  legis- 
lature appropriated  $30,000  to  buy  a  statue 
of  Washington  by  Canova.  In  1848,  under 
the  influence  of  Miss  Dorothea  Dix,  a  sum 
larger  than  the  whole  yearly  income  of  the 
state  was  appropriated  to  build  an  asylum  for 
the  insane.  The  policy  of  internal  improve- 
ments was  unpopular,  yet  the  state  subscribed 
two  of  the  three  million  dollars  required  to 
build  the  North  Carolina  Railroad. 

A  majority  of  the  voters  in  1860  opposed 
secession,  and  the  question  even  of  holding  a 
convention  was  defeated  as  late  as  February 
28,  1861.    Not  until  forced  to  choose  between 


36  FEOM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

fighting  the  North  or  the  South  was  the  ordi- 
nance of  secession  passed,  May  20,  1861. 
When  once  engaged,  the  state  furnished  one 
fifth  of  the  soldiers  in  the  Confederate  armies 
and  strained  all  her  energies  to  carry  the 
struggle  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

This  is  the  state  and  these  are  the  people 
who  are  now  living  in  decades,  whole  centuries, 
of  economic  development. 


CHAPTER  III 

DOMESTIC     MANUFACTURES     AND     THE     BEGIN- 
NING   OF    THE     TEXTILE     INDUSTRY 


The  idea  so  industriously  fostered  that 
the  settlers  in  the  South  were  destitute  of 
mechanical  ability  is  entirely  erroneous.  The 
Scotch-Irish  and  the  German  immigrants 
brought  their  trades  with  them,  and  among 
the  Moravians  were  artisans  of  every  sort. 
The  Huguenots  and  the  Swiss  included  many 
skilled  workmen.  There  was  need.  Euro- 
pean goods  were  expensive  and  difficult  to 
procure.  The  settlers  had  few  products  of  their 
own  sufficiently  valuable  to  pay  the  cost  of 
transportation  even  to  the  seacoast,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  trip  across  the  Atlantic.  What 
could  not  be  made  locally  must  be  foregone. 

Take,  for  example,  a  house  back  from  the 
seacoast.     It  was  built  of    logs  during  the 

37 


38  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

early  years,  with  the  floor  of  other  logs  split 
in  half  or  even  of  clay.  The  open  spaces 
between  the  logs  in  the  walls  were  filled  by 
poles  and  clay.  The  chimneys  were  of  stone 
at  the  bottom,  with  flues  of  small  poles  daubed 
inside  with  clay.  All  hinges  and  fastenings 
were  of  wood.  The  iron  pots  in  the  fireplace 
and  the  coarse  dishes  upon  the  table  were 
brought  from  Pennsylvania,  but  the  rude 
furniture  was  made  upon  the  spot.  Later, 
in  some  neighborhoods,  brick  or  stone  houses 
supplanted  the  logs  before  the  introduction 
of  sawmills.  Boards  were  hewn  or  sawn 
by  hand  from  the  trees.  Mecklenburg  County 
was  prosperous,  and  the  citizens  were  intel- 
ligent ;  but  the  first  steam  sawmill  was  not 
established  until  after  1850.^ 

When  the  first  hardships  of  pioneer  days 
were  overcome  and  wants  multiplied,  a  great 
variety  of  small  industries  sprang  up  in  every 
neighborhood.  Spinning  wheels,  made  by  local 
workmen,  spun  wool,  cotton,  and  flax,  which 

^Alexander,  "History  of  Mecklenburg  County"  (1902). 


DOMESTIC    MANUFACTUEES  39 

looms,  also  made  in  the  neighborhood,  con- 
verted into  cloth.  Various  goods  were  made 
from  these  three  materials  singly  or  in  com- 
bination. Dyes  from  the  fields  and  woods 
added  a  pleasing  variety.  Bedspreads  and 
rag  carpets  of  wonderful  design  were  woven. 
Speaking  from  personal  knowledge  of  the 
twenty  years  before  the  Civil  War,  an  old  man 
says :  — 

"  Almost  every  family  had  their  own  loom,  wheel, 
and  cards  for  every  two  female  members  of  the  family, 
white  and  black.  Sewing  thread  was  also  spun,  doubled, 
and  twisted  upon  the  spinning  wheel  at  home.  Only 
for  very  fine  goods  was  spool  thread  bought.  .  .  . 

"Negro  women  spent  all  their  time  when  not  em- 
ployed in  making  or  gathering  the  crops,  in  spinning 
and  weaving  cloth  to  make  their  clothes  or  bedding,  or 
clothes  for  members  of  the  white  family. 

"  A  generation  or  two  ago  women  took  a  delight  in 
showing  each  other  their  fine  handiwork.  They  knit 
most  beautiful  hoods  and  shawls.  .  .  .  All  the  cloth- 
ing was  made  at  home  except  wedding  outfits,  or  for 
extra  occasions.    All  the  footwear  was  home  made."  ^ 

Hats  were  made  from  fur,  wool,  or  braided 

^Alexander,  "  History  of  Mecklenburg  County"  (1902). 


40  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

straw.  The  most  influential  man  in  the  state 
in  1831,  Nathaniel  Macon,  who  had  been  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  Senate,  wore  at  a 
public  gathering  a  suit  of  homespun,  and  a 
hat  which  his  overseer's  wife  had  made  for 
him.*  Of  course,  it  was  perhaps  uncommon 
for  a  man  of  Mr.  Macon's  prominence  to  dress 
in  homespun.  The  wealthier  planters,  par- 
ticularly in  the  East,  bought  expensive  broad- 
cloth, silks,  etc. ;  but  even  to-day,  in  the  more 
remote  sections,  homespun  is  yet  worn,  rag 
carpets  are  woven,  and  the  old  women  have 
not  yet  lost  their  skill  at  the  loom. 

Hides  were  tanned;  boots,  shoes,  harnesses, 
were  made  by  the  farmer  himself  or  by  local 
workmen  in  exchange  for  meal  or  meat.  In 
1810,  in  the  number  of  hides  tanned,  the  state 
ranked  fourth,  and  the  art  has  never  been  lost. 
Even  to-day  many  farmers  mend  the  shoes 
for  their  families  and  make  a  part  of  the  harness 
for  the  work  animals  upon  the  farms. 

^  Creecy,  "Grandfather's  Tales  of  North  Carolina  His- 
tory" (1901). 


DOMESTIC   MANUFACTURES  41 

Some  degree  of  skill  in  woodworking  was 

attained    very    early.    Furniture    was    made 

of  oak,  ash,  cherry,  black  walnut,  as  well  as 

the  omnipresent  pine.    Chairs  with  seats  of 

withes,  rushes,  or  leather  are  yet  made,  though 

in  recent  years  the  cheapness  of  the  factory 

product     has     practically     superseded     hand 

work.    Baskets  of    every    kind    were    made, 

and  even  yet    the  hampers  used   in   cotton 

picking  are  the  handiwork  of  some  decrepit 

or  crippled  negro  who  preserves  the  old  craft. 

Wagon  makers   built  the  heavy  road  wagons 

and  lighter  carriages,  the  latter  not  without 

some  degree  of  elegance. 

"  Mr.  H made  vehicles  upon  honor.     If  he  sold 

a  buggy  and  harness,  he  would  warrant  it  to  stand 
three  years ;  but  he  would  charge  from  $  150  to  $  200. 
His  buggies  were  known  to  last,  with  ordinary  care, 
from  ten  to  fifteen  years."  ^ 

Farming  implements  were  made,  including 
gins,  gin  presses,  and  the  heavy  wooden  cog 
wheels  for  the  transmission  of  power.  On  the 
old  plantations  the  t*'''"  gin  machinery 

'Alexander,  "History  d  County"  (1902). 


42  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

may  yet  be  seen.  Flails,  fanning  machines 
for  cleaning  grain,  water  wheels  for  saw  or 
grist  mills,  were  all  made  within  the  state. 
The  cooperage  establishments  turned  out 
buckets,  barrels,  vats,  and  firkins. 

Bar  iron  from  a  local  ''bloomery"  or  per- 
haps ''Sweet"  (Swede)  iron  brought  from 
Philadelphia  furnished  the  material  for  nails, 
cut  or  forged  by  hand,  horseshoes,  plows, 
wagon  tires,  grain  scythes,  hinges,  locks,  etc. 
Near  Lincolnton,  after  about  1822,  was  an 
ax  'factory,  the  product  of  which  was  widely 
sought  on  account  of  its  excellence.  In  1800 
at  High  Shoals  there  were  a  rolling  mill  and 
shops  which  turned  out  various  products 
from  wrought  iron,  including  bars,  nails, 
plowshares,  etc.^  There  were  also  establish- 
ments which  made  hollow  ware,  i.e.  pots, 
kettles,  etc.  Tench  Coxe  in  1810  ranked  the 
state  second  only  to  New  Jersey  in  the 
number  of   ''bloomeries." 

Much  machinery  for  the  early  cotton  mills 

» Tompkins,  pamphlet  (1902). 


DOMESTIC  MANUFACTURES  43 

was  made  by  the  local  blacksmiths.  They 
were  important  men  in  the  community  and 
often  grew  prosperous.  Some  invested  their 
savings  in  land  and  with  the  development  of 
the  state  grew  to  be  the  holders  of  large  and 
valuable  estates.  Their  sons  often  went  to 
college  and  became  prominent  planters  or 
professional    men. 

By  the  streams  where  the  clay  was  found 
to  be  particularly  tenacious  and  smooth, 
pottery  works  were  established.  Little  if 
any  table  ware  was  made,  but  crocks  for  the 
dairy,  jars  for  household  purposes,  and  jugs 
were  made  in  abundance.  The  surplus  be- 
yond the  neighborhood  demand  was  peddled 
from  wagons  which  visited  the  country  stores 
or  the  individual  buyers.  Many  of  these  little 
establishments  endure  to  the  present  day, 
and  the  figure  of  the  potter's  wheel  is  intel- 
ligible to  thousands  who  have  seen  the  fash- 
ioning of  the  clay.  The  statistics  for  1810 
already  mentioned  ^  show  many  other  indus- 
»p.  11. 


44  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

tries.  There  were  eight  manufactories  of  gun- 
powder, and  two  salt  works.  Six  thousand 
pounds  of  paper  were  made  in  this  year  and 
rope  walks  were  in  operation.  The  distilling 
of  ardent  spirits  was  an  important  industry, 
and  in  the  production  of  turpentine  and 
varnish  the  state  easily  led.  In  the  value 
of  all  manufactures,  the  state  ranked  seventh. 
This  rank  in  manufacturing  was  lost  with 
the  succeeding  decades  as  agriculture  assumed 
greater  importance.  In  the  East,  where  there 
was  more  wealth,  and  communication  with 
the  outside  world  was  easier,  reliance  upon 
foreign  goods  became  more  pronounced;  but 
until  1850  it  is  safe  to  say  that  a  majority 
of  the  people  in  the  Middle  and  Western  coun- 
ties dressed  chiefly  in  clothes  of  domestic  or 
local  manufacture,  lived  in  houses  furnished 
by  the  local  cabinetmaker,  rode  in  vehicles 
made  within  the  state,  and  used  implements 
made  in  the  neighborhood. 


DOMESTIC   MANUFACTURES  45 

I 
II 

The  first  cotton  mill  in  North  Carolina  and 
one  of  the  first  south  of  the  Potomac  was 
built  about  1813,  on  a  small  stream  near  Lin- 
colnton,  which  is  now  a  considerable  manu- 
facturing town.  Lincoln  County  had  been 
settled  principally  by  Germans,  Scotch-Irish, 
and  Swiss,  many  of  whom  had  mechanical 
abihty.  Michael  Schenck,  a  native  of  Lan- 
caster County,  Pennsylvania,  who  had  pros- 
pered in  his  new  home,  determined  to  build  a 
mill.  Some  of  the  machinery  was  purchased 
in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  and  was  hauled 
by  wagon  from  Philadelphia.  Other  parts 
were  made  by  Schenck's  brother-in-law,  a 
skilled  worker  in  iron.  The  first  dam  did 
not  hold  and  it  was  necessary  to  rebuild  it 
lower  down  the  creek.  A  contract  with  a  local 
workman  for  the  construction  of  additional 
machinery  is  in  the  possession  of  one  of  the 
Schencks'  descendants.     It  reads  as  follows  :^ — 

1  Schenck,  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Schenck  and  Bivens 
Families"  (1884). 


46  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

"  Articles  of  agreement,  made  and  entered  this  27th. 
day  of  April  1816,  between  Michael  Schenck  &  Abra- 
ham Warlick  of  the  County  of  Lincoln  and  State  of 
North  Carolina,  of  the  one  part,  and  Michael  Beam,  of 
the  county  and  state  aforesaid,  of  the  other  part  wit- 
nesseth ;  that  the  said  Michael  Beam  obliges  himself 
to  build  for  the  said  Schenck  &  Warlick,  within  twelve 
months  of  this  date,  a  spinning  machine  with  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  fliers  with  three  sets  of  flooted 
rollers,  the  back  set  to  be  of  wood,  the  other  two  sets 
to  be  of  iron  ;  the  machine  to  be  made  in  two  frames 
with  two  sets  of  wheels;  one  carding  machine  with 
two  sets  of  cards  to  run  two  ropings  each  to  be  one 
foot  wide,  with  a  picking  machine  to  be  attached  to  it 
with  as  many  saws  as  may  be  necessary  to  feed  the 
carding  machine;  one  rolling  (sic)  with  four  heads. 
All  the  above  machinery  to  be  complete  in  a  workman- 
like manner.  And  the  said  Beam  is  to  board  himself 
and  find  all  the  materials  for  the  machine  and  set  the 
machinery  going  on  a  branch  on  Ab.  Warlick's  land 
below  where  the  old  machine  stood ;  The  said  Schenck 
and  Warlick  are  to  have  the  house  for  the  machine  and 
running  gears  made  at  their  expense,  but  said  Beam 
is  to  fix  the  whole  machinery  above  described  thereto ; 
the  wooden  cans  for  the  roping  and  spinning  and  the 
reel  to  be  furnished  by  said  Schenck  and  Warlick ;  all 
the  straps  and  bands  necessary  for  the  machinery  to 
be  furnished  by  said  Schenck  and  Warlick. 

In  consideration   of  which  the   said  Schenck  and 


DOMESTIC   MANUFACTUEES  47 

Warlick  are  to  pay  to  said  Beam  the  sum  of  thirteen 
hundred  dollars  as  follows,  to  wit:  three  hundred 
dollars  this  day,  two  hundred  dollars  three  months  from 
this  date,  one  hundred  dollars  six  months  from  this 
date,  and  the  balance  of  the  thirteen  hundred  dollars 
to  be  paid  to  the  said  M.  Beam  within  twelve  months 
after  said  machine  is  started  to  spinning.  In  testimony 
whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals,  the 
day  and  year  above  written. 

Absalom  Warlick.        (seal) 
Test,  Michael  Schenck.  (seal) 

RoBT.  H.  BuKTON.       Michael  Beam.  (seal) 

The  mill  was  prosperous,  and  John  Hoke  and 
James  Bivings  bought  a  share  in  1819.  The 
firm  erected  a  larger  mill  of  three  thousand 
spindles,  the  Lincoln  Cotton  Factory,  on  the 
South  Fork  of  the  Catawba,  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  south  of  Lincolnton.  Attached  to 
this  mill  was  an  annex,  which  made  various 
articles  from  iron.  Wagons  came  from  a  dis- 
tance of  a  hundred  miles  to  secure  yarn,  and 
the  mill  continued  in  successful  operation  until 
burned  by  an  incendiary  in  1863.  On  the  site 
the  Confederate  government  erected  a  labora- 
tory for  the  manufacture  of  medicines,  and 


48  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

twenty  years  after  the  war  a  cotton  mill  again 
began  operations. 

In  1820  Colonel  Joel  Battle,  the  grandfather 
of  Professor  Kemp  P.  Battle  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  opened  the  Rocky  Mount 
Cotton  Mills  in  Edgecombe  County,  with  more 
than  two  thousand  spindles.  Coarse  yarn 
for  neighborhood  consumption  was  spun  here 
by  negroes.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  slaves, 
belonging  to  the  mill  owners,  or  to  their  neigh- 
bors, though  a  few  free  negroes  were  employed. 
White  labor  was  substituted  in  1851.^  The 
mill,  though  making  only  twelve  to  fifteen 
hundred  pounds  of  coarse  yam,  4's  to  12's, 
daily,  was  much  hampered  by  lack  of  a  steady 
market. 

Apparently  the  first  application  of  steam  to 
the  industry  was  at  the  Mount  Hecla  Mills  at 
Greensboro  about  1830.  The  machinery  for 
this  mill  was  shipped  from  Philadelphia  to 
Wilmington,  then  up  to  Cape  Fear  River  to 
Fayetteville,  and  was  hauled  across  the  coun- 

*  See  Chapter  XIII. 


DOMESTIC   MANUFACTURES  49 

try  by  wagon.  When  wood  for  fuel  grew 
scarce,  the  machinery  was  moved  to  Mountain 
Island,  where  it  was  run  by  water  power. 

Soon  after  1830  E.  M.  Holt,  one  of  the  most 
successful  manufacturers  the  state  has  known, 
built  a  mill  on  Alamance  Creek.  Finding 
difficulty  in  disposing  of  all  his  yarn,  he  began 
between  1850  and  1860  the  manufacture  of 
coarse,  colored  cloth  known  as  "Alamance 
plaids."  Success  attended  the  venture  and 
the  product  became  more  than  locally  known. 
To-day,  throughout  central  North  Carolina, 
"Alamance"  is  almost  universally  used  as  a 
synonym  for  the  coarse  ginghams  on  the  shelves 
of  the  country  merchants.  Other  mills  were 
built  by  him  and  his  sons,  and  the  family  is 
prominent  in  manufacturing  at  the  present 
time. 

In  1840  Francis  Fries,  a  descendant  of  a 
Moravian  minister,  who  had  had  some  experi- 
ence in  cotton  manufacturing  as  agent  of  the 
Salem  Manufacturing  Company,  began  a  small 
wool  business.    To  this  was  added  dyeing  vats 


50     FROM  COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON   MILL 

to  color  the  cloth  woven  by  the  farmers'  wives, 
and  later  spindles  and  looms  were  added. 

Other  mills  had  been  built  during  the  decade, 
and  in  1840  twenty-five  establishments  were 
reported  to  be  in  operation.  The  total  number 
of  spindles,  however,  was  only  47,900,  with 
700  looms.  The  number  of  operatives  was 
only  1200,  the  capital  $995,300,  and  the  con- 
sumption of  cotton  7000  bales,  totals  surpassed 
by  single  establishments  at  the  present  day. 

During  the  next  twenty  years  the  number  of 
establishments  increased,  though  the  spindles 
decreased.  In  1860,  39  mills  with  41,900 
spindles  and  800  looms  were  reported.  The 
consumption  of  cotton  is  given  as  11,100  bales, 
the  capital  as  $1,272,750,  and  the  number  of 
operatives  as  1755.  It  is  noteworthy,  however, 
that  only  nine  of  these  establishments  were  in 
the  Eastern  counties.  The  increase  in  cotton 
consumption  is  probably  due  to  more  regular 
operation.  Many  of  the  early  mills  ran  only 
a  part  of  the  year.  The  water  power  was  often 
imperfectly  utilized,  and  the  mill  was  necessarily 


DOMESTIC   MANUFACTURES  51 

stopped  when  the  streams  were  abnormally 
high  or  low. 

Often  the  mill  was  stopped  when  the  neigh- 
borhood demand  was  satisfied.  Commercial 
organization  was  lacking.  Little  attempt  to 
secure  more  than  a  local  market  seems  to  have 
been  made.  Instead  of  selling  the  whole  prod- 
uct to  a  distributing  agent,  each  mill  was  its 
own  distributer  and  depended  chiefly  upon 
local  demand  and  upon  accidental  outside  con- 
sumers. A  third  difficulty  was  the  fact  that 
the  operatives  were  such  only  incidentally. 

Upon  Deep  River  in  Randolph  County,  where 
five  mills  were  built  before  1850,  conditions 
were  somewhat  peculiar  in  this  respect.  These 
mills  were  in  a  section  where  the  Quaker  in- 
fluence was  strong.  Slavery  was  not  wide- 
spread and  was  unpopular.  The  mills  were 
built  by  stock  companies  composed  of  sub- 
stantial citizens  of  the  neighborhood.  There 
was  little  or  no  prejudice  against  mill  labor  as 
such,  and  the  farmers'  daughters  gladly  came 
to  work  in  the  mills.    They  lived  at  home,  walk- 


52  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

ing  the  distance  morning  and  evening,  or  else 
boarded  with  some  relative  or  friend  near  by. 

The  mill  managers  were  men  of  high  char- 
acter, who  felt  themselves  to  stand  in  a  pa- 
rental relation  to  the  operatives  and  required 
the  observance  of  decorous  conduct.  Many 
girls  worked  to  buy  trousseaux,  others  to  help 
their  families.  They  lost  no  caste  by  working 
in  the  mills.  Twenty  years  ago  throughout 
that  section  one  might  find  the  wives  of  sub- 
stantial farmers  or  business  men  who  had 
worked  in  the  mills  before  the  Civil  War. 
Some  married  officials  of  the  mills.^ 

In  many  localities,  however,  there  was  diffi- 
culty in  securing  the  necessary  labor,  arising 
not  so  much  from  the  feeling  that  such  labor 
was  degrading,  as  on  account  of  the  confine- 
ment and  the  necessary  subordination.  The 
people  had  been  accustomed  to  out-of-door 
life  for  generations.  Life  was  simple,  and  dis- 
content with  the  loneliness  of  the  farms  had 

*  For  somewhat  similar  conditions  in  New  England  in 
the  thirties,  see  Robinson,  "  Loom  and  Spindle"  (1898). 


DOMESTIC   MANUFACTURES  53 

not  assumed  its  present  proportions.  To  work 
indoors  seemed  too  great  a  sacrifice. 

The  spirit  of  independence  was  strong  in 
the  rural  population.  They  felt  themselves  as 
''good  as  anybody/'  and  disliked  to  take  orders. 
They  did  upon  their  own  farms  labor  of  the 
same  sort,  and  much  that  was  more  unpleasant; 
but  this  was  done  for  themselves.  Both  men 
and  women  worked  for  wages  for  their  more 
prosperous  neighbors,  but  their  position  was 
not  distinctly  menial.  They  were  not  so  much 
working  for  that  neighbor,  as  they  were  work- 
ing with  him,  assisting  him  and  his  family. 

Such  workers  were  not  considered  servants, 
but  ate  at  the  family  table,  and  occupied  rooms 
in  the  house.  Working  in  a  mill  under  over- 
seers seemed  to  many  a  sacrifice  of  independ- 
ence, and  any  curtailment  of  personal  liberty 
was  resented.  On  one  occasion,  the  attempt  to 
prevent  operatives  from  looking  out  of  the  win- 
dows, by  painting  the  glass,  would  have  re- 
sulted in  a  general  strike  but  for  the  restoration 
of  the  clear  glass. 


54  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Further,  the  large  emigration  had  left  many 
vacant  farms,  and  there  was  abundant  room 
for  all  upon  the  soil.  As  the  state  came  more 
and  more  under  the  influence  of  the  plantation 
system  the  ambition  of  every  farmer,  however 
small,  was  to  become  a  planter.  To  go  to  the 
mill  with  the  intention  of  remaining  meant 
the  definite  abandonment  of  such  ambition, 
and  few  were  willing  to  make  that  sacrifice. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   GROWTH   OF   THE    INDUSTRY   SINCE    1861 

The  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  found  the 
state  with  less  than  $1,500,000  invested  in 
cotton  manufacturing,  possibly  $300,000  in 
wool,  and  as  much  in  iron.  Yearly  she  was 
growing  more  dependent  upon  the  North  and 
upon  Europe,  not  so  much  from  the  decay  of 
the  industries  already  existing  as  from  lack 
of  their  expansion.  The  home  manufactures 
had  not  kept  pace  with  the  increasing  wants. 
In  some  industries  they  had  actually  declined. 
"Yankee  Notions,"  in  increasing  quantities, 
were  imported  following  the  increasing  reliance 
upon  cotton  growing. 

Within  twelve  months  after  the  beginning 
of  the  war  the  state  became  as  it  had  been  in 
1810,  to  a  great  extent,  self-sufficient.  The 
cotton,  woolen,  and  leather  manufactories  were 
taxed    to    their    utmost    capacity.     Spinning 

55 


56   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

wheels  and  looms  which  had  been  retired  to 
the  attics  were  again  brought  into  service. 
With  the  purchase  by  the  state,  under  direc- 
tion of  the  great  war  governor,  Z.  B.  Vance,  of 
the  steamer  Ad-Vance,  state  direction  was 
added  to  the  activity.  This  boat,  which  made 
eleven  successful  trips  through  the  blockade 
before  it  was  captured,  brought  in  many  things 
which  were  sorely  needed.  Sixty  thousand 
pairs  of  hand  cards  for  preparing  cotton  and 
wool,  machinery  for  manufacturing  shoes,  tex- 
tile repairs  and  supplies,  were  included  in 
the  cargoes.^ 

An  account  of  the  efforts  and  expedients  of 
the  people  during  that  period  would  make  a 
book  of  intense  interest.  Nothing  was  wasted. 
The  law  forbade  the  distillation  of  grain  into 
alcoholic  beverages.  Luxuries  were  foregone, 
and  for  every  supposed  necessity  no  longer 
procurable  a  substitute  was  found. 

^  For  an  interesting  account  of  state  activity,  see  Gov- 
ernor Vance's  article  in  "  History  of  North  Carolina  Regi- 
ments," Vol.  V  (1901),  also  printed  in  Dowd,  "Life  of 
Vance"  (1897). 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE   1861      57 

The  cotton  manufacturers,  in  striking  con- 
trast to  their  course  elsewhere,  did  not  take 
advantage  of  the  increased  demand  to  pile  up 
fortunes  for  themselves.  Almost  without  ex- 
ception they  refused  to  sell  their  product  to 
speculators.  They  were  usually  men  of  stand- 
ing and  influence  in  their  neighborhoods,  and 
valued  the  respect  in  which  they  were  held. 
The  value  of  pubhc  opinion  as  an  economic 
force  in  the  South  has  never  been  properly 
estimated.  It  is  a  power  to-day,  and  the  man 
who  demands  his  pound  of  flesh  from  a  help- 
less, unfortunate  neighbor  is  censured  for  his 
harshness,  rather  than  praised  for  his  exact- 
ness. Social  aversion  makes  his  position  like 
that  of  the  usurer.  Some  primitive  ideas  of 
the  duties  toward  neighbors  still  prevail. 

The  course  of  General  W.  H.  Neal  of  Meck- 
lenburg County  is  perhaps  typical.  He  owned 
a  Uttle  mill,  containing  only  500  spindles  and  a 
few  looms,  which  had  begun  operation  in  1850. 
When  the  demand  for  yam  exceeded  the  sup- 
ply, he  adopted  the  plan  of  considering  the 


58  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

absolute  necessities  of  applicants,  rather  than 
their  desires.  The  soldiers'  widows  came  first, 
and  even  his  own  children  were  forced  to  take 
their  chances  with  other  applicants.  He  was 
paid  in  Confederate  money,  though  speculators 
offered  to  pay  in  gold.  The  fate  of  this  mill 
was  that  of  several  others.  In  1866  the  ma- 
chinery was  so  worn  that  further  operation  was 
unprofitable,  and  a  grist  mill  took  its  place. 

When  the  state  was  overrun  with  Federal 
troops,  a  number  of  mills  were  destroyed. 
Among  them  were  the  Rocky  Mount  Mill, 
burned  in  1863,  and  the  plant  of  the  Richmond 
Manufacturing  Company,  which  was  burned 
by  Sherman's  army  in  1865.  This  mill,  which 
had  been  in  operation  since  1833,  was  rebuilt  and 
enlarged  in  1869,  and  has  been  in  successful 
operation  ever  since.  Five  mills,  in  and  around 
Fayetteville,  were  also  burned  in  1865,  by  order 
of  General  Sherman.^  Stoneman's  raiders  also 
burned  the  mill  at  Patterson,  Caldwell  County. 

*  Vance, "  Last  Days  of  War  in  North  Carolina,"  in  Dowd, 
"  Life  of  Vance"  (1897). 


GKOWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE   1861      59 

The  mills  which  escaped  destruction  before 
peace  was  declared  were  generally  in  poor  con- 
dition. The  machinery,  tried  by  the  strain  of 
years,  was  worn  and  much  was  obsolete.  Some 
owners  were  ruined  by  emancipation  and  the 
disarrangement  of  the  whole  economic  system, 
and  had  no  capital  for  renewal.  The  country 
was  prostrate,  the  future  was  uncertain,  and 
the  outlook  was  dark.  Some  mills,  sold  at 
auction,  brought  sums  so  small  that  profit- 
able reorganization  was  possible.  Others  could 
find  no  purchasers  and  were  stopped  entirely. 
Generally,  however,  the  mills  continued  to  run. 

The  high  price  of  cotton,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  tobacco  industry,  in  the  years 
immediately  following  the  war,  brought  some 
money  into  the  state  which  was  almost  without 
a  medium  of  exchange.  Indeed,  the  abnormal 
price  of  cotton  as  a  factor  in  the  recovery  of 
the  South  has  not  been  sufficiently  emphasized, 
even  though  many  evils  followed  in  its  train. 
Though  cotton  had  been  growing  steadily  more 
important,  it  had  not  been  the  sole  crop.     On 


60   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

every  farm  and  plantation,  grain  and  meat  had 
been  produced.  Now  the  whole  energy  was 
turned  into  cotton  growing  wherever  it  was  pos- 
sible. The  other  factors,  which  also  influenced 
this  change,  will  be  discussed  in  another  place. 

In  1870  we  find  enumerated  only  33  mills 
with  39,900  spindles  and  600  looms.  The  capi- 
tal invested  was  $1,030,900,  and  the  consump- 
tion of  cotton  had  dropped  to  8500  bales.  The 
average  number  of  spindles  to  the  establish- 
ment had  risen  to  1210  —  an  advance  of  nearly 
20  per  cent,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  smaller  and  less  economical  estabUshments 
had  not  survived. 

During  the  next  decade  hope  began  to  return. 
The  reconstruction  government,  while  cor- 
rupt, was  less  greedy  than  in  other  states. 
Some  of  those  profiting  by  contracts  and  bond 
issues  invested  their  gains  in  industrial  enter- 
prises. The  great  panic  of  1873  did  not,  at 
first,  affect  the  state  severely.  The  state  was 
so  largely  agricultural,  so  little  money  was  in- 
vested in  manufacturing,  and  there  were  so 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE    1861      61 

few  banks  that  the  first  shock  was  not  severe. 
Later  the  general  depression  was  felt  in  the 
price  of  cotton.  The  high  prices  had  caused 
the  emphasis  to  be  laid  upon  large,  rather  than 
upon  economical,  production.  The  price  de- 
chned  almost  steadily  from  23.98  cents  the 
pound  in  1870  to  10.38  cents  in  1879,  due 
partly  to  increased  production  but  also  to  de- 
creased demand.^  Farming  was  less  profitable, 
particularly  as  crops  were  short  for  several 
years;  money  was  scarce,  but  still  there  was 
less  suffering  than  was  experienced  in  other 
sections. 

During  this  decade  the  textile  industry  in- 
creased. Mills  no  longer  distributed  their  own 
product,  and  much  yam  was  shipped  from  the 
state  to  be  woven  elsewhere,  though  the  num- 
ber of  looms  was  tripled.  Forty-nine  estab- 
lishments with  92,400  spindles  and  1800  looms 
were  reported  in  1880,  and  the  average  number 
of  spindles  to  the  establishment  reached  1890, 
an  increase  of  more  than  50  per  cent.    The 

»  Hammond,  "The  Cotton  Industry"  (1897). 


62   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

capital  reported  was  $2,855,800,  and  the  con- 
sumption of  cotton  is  given  as  23,700  bales. 

The  best  farmers  had  made  money  growing 
cotton,  and  began  to  invest  some  of  the  pro- 
ceeds in  cotton  manufacturing.  New  mills 
were  built,  all  of  which  did  not  succeed.  Some 
managers  yielded  to  offers,  tempting  on  their 
face,  to  install  machinery  which  had  been  used 
in  New  England.  Farsighted  manufacturers 
there,  seeing  the  possibihty  of  competition  in 
coarser  numbers  of  yarn,  began  to  turn  their 
attention  to  finer  yarns,  or  else  wished  to  take 
advantage  of  new  inventions.  Machinery,  some 
of  it,  at  least,  in  good  condition,  was  offered 
at  very  low  prices  to  the  Southern  mills.  The 
result  was  generally  not  satisfactory,  and  as  a 
result  a  few  mills  went  into  bankruptcy. 

Much  gratuitous  advice  was  now  offered  to 
the  section.  It  was  gravely  announced  by 
those  interested  in  preventing  manufacturing 
development  that  the  Southern  climate  was 
not  suitable  for  spinning  on  account  of  the 
dryness ;    that  machinery  could  not  be  kept  in 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE    1861      63 

good  condition  on  account  of  the  moisture; 
that  labor  could  not  be  found  at  all;  that  the 
native  labor  could  never  attain  satisfactory 
skill;  that  it  would  be  an  economic  waste  to 
draw  labor  from  the  production  of  cotton  into 
its  manufacture.  It  was  prophesied  that  the 
necessary  managing  ability  could  not  be  found, 
and  capital  was  warned  not  to  trust  itself  in 
the  hazardous  enterprise.  Extreme  solicitude 
for  the  savings  of  the  South  was  also  mani- 
fested. 

But  the  habit  of  mind  of  the  Southern  peo- 
ple was  changing.  Those  who  had  saved  land 
and  capital  from  the  wreck  of  the  war,  or  had 
gained  them  since,  began  to  tire  of  the  never 
ceasing  contest  with  the  inefficiency  and  un- 
reliability of  the  freedman.  As  the  older 
negroes  who  had  been  trained  under  the  dis- 
cipline of  slavery  became  superannuated,  it 
was  found  difficult  to  secure  efficient  laborers. 
The  younger  negroes  preferred  to  work  in  gangs 
in  the  turpentine  forests,  at  railway  construc- 
tion, or  not  to  work  at  all.     Hundreds  of  well- 


64   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

to-do  farmers,  disgusted  with  the  struggle, 
practically  abandoned  their  farms  and  moved 
to  town,  there  to  seek  profitable  occupation 
and  investments.  The  country  merchant  also 
began  to  dream  of  managing  greater  enterprises. 

Sometimes  they  were  surprised  at  their 
success.  Commercial  and  industrial  abihty 
was  found  not  so  rare  as  had  been  supposed. 
As  their  interests  grew,  ability  to  manage  them 
was  developed.  The  old  idea  of  comfort  — 
Hf e  upon  a  plantation  —  was  no  longer  un- 
challenged. But  more  than  this,  the  people 
generally  began  to  be  convinced  of  the  proba- 
bility of  Southern  industrial  success.  The  awe 
of  the  ingenuity  of  the  thrifty  Yankee  was  no 
longer  so  pronounced.  The  people  began  to  be 
wilhng  to  invest  their  surplus  or  savings  in 
something  other  than  a  land  mortgage. 

Under  a  plan  which  will  be  described  else- 
where, these  savings,  individually  small,  but 
large  in  the  aggregate,  were  poured  into  cotton 
manufacturing.  Towns  in  which  not  a  single 
man  could  be  accounted  rich  even  by  the  modest 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE    1861      65 

standard  prevailing,  began  to  discuss  the  erec- 
tion of  manufacturing  establishments.  The 
process  was  not  rapid.  Inertia,  timidity,  in- 
experience, were  to  be  overcome ;  but  after  1890 
the  building  of  mills  went  on  with  increasing 
rapidity.  The  majority  were  small  neighbor- 
hood affairs,  but  they  were  profitable. 

The  manufacturers  of  New  England  generally 
did  not  reahze  the  revolution  that  was  taking 
place  in  Southern  life.  That  section  had  crippled 
or  destroyed  industrial  enterprises  existing  in 
the  South  before  the  war,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  believe  that  there  was  any  menace  to  her 
supremacy  in  the  textile  industry.  But  the 
new  Southern  mills  were  not  the  same  old 
wasteful  establishments.  New  plants  were 
built  from  the  profits  of  the  old.  The  newest 
machinery  was  installed.  The  unprofitable' 
ness  of  second-hand  machinery  was  recognized, 
and  only  the  best  was  bought. 

The  machinery  houses  began  to  take  great 
interest  in  the  development.  Agents  were 
sent  to  encourage  building,  and  favorable  terms 


66   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

of  payment  were  granted.  When  sufficient 
capital  seemed  difficult  to  secure,  the  manu- 
facturers of  machinery  offered  to  take  a  part 
of  the  price  of  the  machinery  in  stock. 

The  statistics  for  1890  show  plainly  the  prog- 
ress of  the  industry.  The  number  of  estab- 
hshments  was  91,  and  the  number  of  spindles, 
337,800,  was  more  than  three  and  a  half  times 
the  total  of  ten  years  before.  The  number 
of  looms,  7300,  was  more  than  four  times  as 
great.  The  capital  reported  as  invested  was 
$10,775,100,  and  the  consumption  of  cotton, 
107,100  bales,  was  nearly  a  third  of  the  state's 
production. 

With  the  publication  of  such  statistics  the 
attention  of  the  North  was  fully  aroused.  The 
statement  that  the  South  could  not  manu- 
facture cotton  successfully  was  no  longer 
heard.  The  march  of  events  had  proved 
the  falsity  of  that  prophecy.  Some  Northern 
manufacturers  began  to  erect  branch  mills 
in  the  South.  Few  of  these,  however,  came 
to  North  Carolina,  but   were  located  farther 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE    1861      67 

south,  nearer  the  center  of  the  cotton  belt. 
The  state  had  learned  to  rely  chiefly  upon  its 
own  endeavors,  and  ceased  calling  for  outside 
capital  to  develop  its  resources. 

Not  every  new  mill  was  advantageously 
located.  Nearly  every  little  town  in  the  cen- 
tral or  west-central  portion  of  the  state  built 
a  mill  or  mills.  Some  were  built  away  from  rail- 
roads, sometimes  to  utihze  water  power,  some- 
times to  secure  cheap  fuel  or  abundant  labor. 
These  advantages  were  often  apparent  rather 
than  real,  or  at  least  temporary,  or  unreliable. 

Profits,  however,  seemed  almost  certain. 
Mills,  though  not  always  economically  managed, 
paid  good  dividends,  and  the  best  were  phe- 
nomenally successful,  though  sometimes  at 
the  expense  of  a  reserve  for  depreciation.  The 
whole  profit,  in  many  cases,  was  paid  to  the 
stockholders  and  nothing  was  retained  to  re- 
place worn  machinery,  nor  to  provide  a  reser- 
voir from  which  dividends  might  be  paid  in  a 
less  profitable  season. 

The  result,  following  these  large  dividends, 


68  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

was  almost  a  craze  for  mill  building.  Mills 
were  too  often  built  to  produce  those  particular 
yams  which  were  most  profitable  for  the  moment, 
without  due  consideration  of  permanency  of 
profit;  or  the  interested  advice  of  some  com- 
mission house  which  made  a  specialty  of  certain 
numbers  was  followed;  but  as  the  managers 
have  learned  more  of  the  business,  the  tendency 
toward  finer  numbers  has  been  well  marked. 

The  statistics  given  for  1900  illustrate 
the  tendency.  In  1890  the  state  produced 
41,972,080  pounds  of  yam  below  number  20, 
and  only  3,076,558  pounds  between  number  20 
and  number  40.  None  finer  than  number  40 
was  reported,  and  the  amount  above  number 
20  was  only  7.09  per  cent,  of  the  total  production 
of  the  state.  In  1900  the  proportion  was  much 
changed.  The  number  of  pounds  under  num- 
ber 20  was  99,021,341,  but  the  amount  between 
number  20  and  number  40  was  56,527,998, 
while  886,200  pounds  of  yam  finer  than  num- 
ber 40  were  also  reported.^ 

» U.S.  Census  BuUetin  215. 


GKOWTH  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  SINCE   1861     69 

Before  1890  the  question  of  satisfactory- 
labor  had  not  been  entirely  solved.  The  better 
class  of  population  was  not  easily  drawn  from 
the  farms  to  the  factories.  After  1890  the 
price  of  cotton,  owing  to  increased  production 
both  of  the  domestic  staple  and  of  Egyptian 
and  Indian,  and  also  to  the  depression  follow- 
ing the  panic  of  1893,  went  lower  and  lower. 
On  the  bulk  of  the  crops  of  1894  and  1895  the 
farmer  realized  httle  more  than  five  cents, 
while  much  was  sold  below  this  low  price, 
which  was  less  than  the  average  cost  of  pro- 
duction. Low  prices  for  tobacco,  corn,  and 
wheat  accompanied  the  ruinous  price  of  cotton. 

These  unprecedentedly  low  prices  of  their 
products  brought  much  distress  to  the  farming 
population.  Crops  brought  hardly  more  than 
fertihzer  bills,  allowing  nothing  for  labor. 
Live  stock  brought  less  than  the  cost  of  feed- 
ing, even  at  the  prevailing  low  prices  of  hay 
and  grain.  To  secure  the  cash  to  pay  taxes 
was  a  difficult  problem.  Debts  incurred  when 
times  were  easier  were  now  a  crushing  burden. 


70   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

A  mortgage,  once  easily  carried,  was  now  an 
impossible  load.  Farms  were  sacrificed  for  a 
small  part  of  their  supposed  value.  The  pohti- 
cal  revolution  growing  out  of  the  prevaihng 
discontent  will  be  discussed  in  another  place.^ 
Meanwhile  the  cotton  mills  seemed  the  only 
enterprises  unaffected  by  the  prevaihng  depres- 
sion. The  mills  were  running  at  their  full  ca- 
pacity, often  both  night  and  day ;  were  selhng 
their  yarns  at  a  profit  in  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  and  Boston,  and  were  sending  cloth 
to  the  Orient,  and  a  limited  quantity  to  South 
America.  To  the  mill  towns  turned  the  dis- 
couraged from  the  farms,  hoping  for  better 
times  in  industry  than  in  agriculture.  Renters 
and  laborers  went  to  those  places  where  there 
was  work  with  money  wages  for  all.  Land- 
owners also  sought  employment.  In  some 
neighborhoods  the  movement  assumed  almost 
the  proportions  of  an  exodus.  Among  the 
migrants  were  the  lazy,  the  shiftless,  and  the 
incapable,  but  there  was  also,  the  hard-working, 

» Ch.  X. 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE    1861      71 

honest  element,  which  hoped  to  better  its  con- 
dition by  industry. 

As  new  mills  were  completed  they  were  as 
quickly  filled,  even  though  situated  out  of  the 
cotton  country.  When  expenses  of  moving 
are  offered  in  addition  to  wages,  operatives 
can  be  drawn  from  other  mills,  though  careful 
selection  cannot  always  be  exercised.  The 
mobile  labor  is  usually  the  unsatisfactory  labor. 
Much  of  this  willingness  to  move  is  due,  how- 
ever, to  lack  of  adjustment  to  surroundings  of 
the  population,  so  lately  taken  from  the  soil. 
The  new  life  cramps  them  at  some  points,  and 
they  move  in  the  vain  search  for  the  freedom 
of  the  old,  together  with  the  advantage  of  the 
new. 

With  the  return  of  higher  prices  for  agricul- 
tural products,  together  with  certain  agencies 
tending  to  make  life  in  the  country  more 
attractive,  the  movement  toward  the  mills 
has  become  slower.  Greater  inducements  are 
necessary  to  attract  the  new  material  from 
which  efficient  workers  may  be  made.     During 


72   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

the  summer  of  1904  many  mills  were  without 
their  full  complement  of  operatives.  Wages  in 
North  Carolina  mills  have  been  seldom  cut. 
Nearly  every  advance  has  been  permanent. 
So,  in  order  to  avoid  formally  raising  the  rate, 
which  might  be  difficult  to  reduce,  should  the 
scarcity  prove  only  temporary,  some  managers 
adopted  an  ingenious  substitute.  This  was  to 
pay  the  operatives  for  running  more  machines 
than  could  be  efficiently  operated.  For  ex- 
ample, a  spinner  capable  of  managing  four 
*' sides"  would  be  paid  for  six,  though  two  were 
only  nominally  in  operation. 

Meanwhile  the  building  of  new  mills  had  gone 
on  rapidly,  and  the  average  number  of  spindles 
also  was  increased.  Mills  to  spin  finer  yarn 
and  ''specialties"  were  built,  and  finer  cloth, 
both  white  and  colored,  was  produced.  Here 
again  the  prophecies  from  New  England,  that 
the  Southern  mills  must  confine  themselves  to 
the  coarser  grades,  were  disproved. 

Though  the  trouble  in  China  reduced  the 
profits  by  curtailing  the  markets  of  the  exist- 


GROWTH  OF  THE   INDUSTRY  SINCE    1861      73 

ing  mills,  the  promoters  were  not  frightened. 
The  movement  reached  its  climax  about  1903, 
when  twenty-nine  mills  were  in  process  of  con- 
struction. Since  their  completion  there  has 
been  a  cessation  of  building  activity.  The 
market  has  been  glutted  at  times,  partly 
owing  to  the  troubles  in  the  East  already 
mentioned;  partly  to  overproduction  of  cer- 
tain numbers  and  grades;  partly  to  the  de- 
creased demand  resulting  from  higher  prices 
of  cotton.  Mills  with  established  reputations, 
however,  have  continued  to  make  profits, 
although  others  have  become  bankrupt. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE   INDUSTRY 

The  traveler  through  some  parts  of  North 
CaroHna  is  seldom  out  of  sight  or  hearing  of 
a  cotton  mill.  The  tall  chimneys  rise  beside 
the  railway  in  nearly  every  town.  Side  tracks 
from  the  main  line  lead  to  the  low  brick  mills 
and  the  clustering  tenements,  set  down  in 
fields  where  crops  grow  almost  to  the  doors,  or 
in  the  forest  where  a  clearing  has  been  made. 

The  state  has  more  separate  establishments 
than  any  other.  Almost  one  fourth  of  the  mills 
in  the  United  States  are  within  its  borders, 
though  in  production  it  is  only  third.  There 
are  no  great  establishments  like  those  in 
Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  or  even  South 
Carolina,  which  count  their  spindles  by  the 
hundred  thousand.  The  largest  of  the  263 
cotton  or  woolen  mills  reported  in  1904  has  only 
75,000  spindles  and  about    2000  looms;    and 

74 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  75 

this  is  really  two  mills  more  than  a  mile  apart, 
though  under  the  control  of  the  same  corpora- 
tion, and  the  second  and  larger  was  built  from 
the  profits  of  the  first.  Some  mills  are  so  small 
that  successful  operation  would  seem  impossible. 
One  woolen  mill  has  but  168  spindles  and  no 
looms,  while  one  cotton  mill  has  only  820 
spindles.  The  average  number  of  spindles  is 
a  little  over  8000,^  and,  if  the  looms  were 
divided,  the  number  to  each  mill  would  be  185. 
This  number  could  not  possibly  consume  the 
product  of  these  spindles  during  dayhght,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  large  production  at  night. 

Many  of  these  mills,  however,  have  no  looms 
at  all,  but  sell  the  yarn  produced.  Around 
Philadelphia  especially,  and  to  a  less  extent  in 
New  England,  are  many  mills  which  weave  only 
and  buy  their  yarn.     In  such  mills  the  variety 

»  2,178,964  spindles  -;-  263  =  8285. 
48,612  looms      -f- 263  =    185. 
The  discrepancy  between  the  number  of  establishments  re- 
ported by  the  Census  and  by  the  State  Bureau  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  former  reports  mills  owned  by  the  same 
corporations  as  one  establishment. 


76   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

of  goods  woven  and  the  frequent  changes  make 
the  production  of  all  the  numbers  and  qualities 
unprofitable  or  impossible.  Some  of  the  North 
Carolina  mills  sell  their  product  to  others  in  the 
neighborhood.  Where  one  family  or  one  inter- 
est controls  several  mills,  one  establishment 
has  often  been  built  to  consume  the  product 
of  another. 

These  mills  are  located  in  fifty-four  of  the 
ninety-seven  counties  of  the  state,  in  every 
section  from  the  seashore  to  the  mountains. 
Much  the  largest  number,  however,  is  in  the 
central  or  west-central  sections.  Here  the 
mills  are  thickest.  Gaston  County,  with  a 
population  of  27,903  in  1900,  has  32  mills; 
Alamance,  with  a  population  of  25,565,  has 
23;  Guilford,  with  39,074  population,  has  10 
mills,  some  of  them  very  large;  and  Mecklen- 
burg, with  55,268  population,  has  19.  Only  34 
are  to  be  found  in  what  are  classed  as  Eastern 
counties,  and  only  four  in  the  extreme  West. 

The  older  mills  were  usually  located  upon 
streams   to   utihze   the   water  power,   but   a 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  77 

drouth  was  so  annoying  that  the  majority  of 
these  have  installed  steam  plants  for  auxiliary 
use  at  least.  Comparatively  few  mills  are  in 
the  larger  towns  unless  the  towns  have  grown 
up  around  them.  Generally  they  are  built 
upon  the  outskirts  of  a  village.  Considerable 
land  is  needed  for  buildings  and  tenements, 
and  this  is  secured  at  farm  prices.  The  opera- 
tives are  thus  separated  from  whatever  dis- 
tractions the  town  may  afford,  and  the  payment 
of  town  taxes  is  avoided.  Many  mills  are  in 
the  country,  though  generally  near  a  railroad. 
All  the  buildings  are  well  constructed  of 
brick  or  stone,  and  the  newer  ones  are  seldom 
more  than  two  stories  high.  Light  is  admitted 
from  three  or  four  sides,  and  often  from  the 
roof  as  well;  and  the  circulation  of  air  is  free, 
in  striking  contrast  to  some  old  New  England 
mills.  There,  in  the  summer  of  1903, 1  visited 
a  mill  where  electric  lights  were  burning  at 
noon,  though  the  sun  was  shining  brightly 
outside.  The  air  in  the  mills  which  spin  the 
finer  yarns  is  kept  moist  by  humidifiers,  which 


78      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

throw  out  water  in  a  fine  spray.  In  summer 
the  spinning  rooms  are  pleasanter  than  the 
offices  or  stores  near  by/  In  winter,  the  con- 
trast between  this  humid  atmosphere  and  the 
cold  winds  outside  is  severe.  In  the  mills 
without  humidifiers  the  temperature  under  the 
tin  roof  may  reach  100°  on  an  August  afternoon. 
The  construction  of  the  buildings  and  the  in- 
stallation of  automatic  sprinklers  reduce  the 
risk  from  fire  to  a  minimum. 

The  equipment  of  the  newer  mills  is  the  best. 
Fewer  mills  here  run  obsolete  patterns  in  ma- 
chinery than  in  New  England,  and  all  instru- 
ments of  production  are  better,  because  newer. 
Every  improvement,  every  labor-saving  device, 
is  installed.  The  time  is  long  gone  when 
Southern  mills  are  equipped  from  the  scrap 
heaps  of  other  sections.  The  expensive  Draper- 
Northrop  loom  which  saves  one  half  to  two 
thirds  of  the  labor  in  weaving  plain  goods 
is    extensively    used,    while    its    introduction 

*  For  confirmation,  see  Young,  "  American  Cotton  Indus- 
try" (1903),  p.  67. 


THE   PRESENT  STATE   OF  THE   INDUSTRY    79 

into  New  England  has  been  proportionately 
much  slower.  There  managers  of  mills  have 
felt  that  they  could  not  afford  to  scrap  their 
ordinary  looms,  perhaps  running  better  than 
new,  to  invest  in  this  expensive  invention, 
which  is  not  yet  entirely  perfected.  Meanwhile 
the  Southern  mills  which  have  installed  them 
are  reducing  materially  the  labor  cost,  and  with 
it  the  profits  of  the  New  England  mills.^ 

The  product  of  the  North  Carolina  mills  is 
yarn,  ''gray"  (unbleached)  cloth,  plaids,  ging- 
hams, denims,  toweling,  canton  flannel,  hosiery, 
etc.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  them  are 
employed  in  the  production  of  coarse  cloth  and 
the  coarser  numbers  of  the  yarn,  from  12  to 
24.^  From  some  mill  or  other,  however, 
almost  every  standard  product  of  cotton  may 
be  procured.    The  coarser  yams  require  less 


^  The  Boott  Mills  at  Lowell  have  just  been  reorganized 
(1905)  after  failure  largely  due  to  neglect  to  keep  abreast  of 
recent  improvements  in  machinery,  if  the  current  reports  are 
to  be  trusted. 

'  For  classification  of  yarns,  see  Ch.  VIII,  p.  132. 


80   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

skill  in  the  manufacture,  but  with  the  increasing 
competition  in  these  grades  the  tendency  toward 
the  finer  numbers  is  steady.  The  Avon  Mills 
in  Gastonia  spin  number  60's  from  Egyptian 
cotton,  and  the  Daniel  Mill  at  Lincolnton  has 
spun  from  combed  sea-island  cotton  the  finer 
numbers  up  to  number  100. 

There  has  been  little  difficulty  in  securing 
labor  capable  of  the  manipulation  of  fine  goods. 
Of  course,  operatives  fresh  from  the  farms  can- 
not at  once  display  the  requisite  dexterity. 
By  selecting  those  already  trained  upon  coarser 
goods,  as  individuals,  rather  than  employing 
whole  famihes,  success  has  followed.  The  mills 
making  fine  goods  are  necessarily  confined  to 
mill  centers,  where  a  large  body  of  operatives 
is  present  from  which  selection  may  be  made. 
Thus  two  predictions  of  Edward  Atkinson  have 
been  disproved :  the  one  that  Southern  cotton 
mills  could  not  be  successful;  the  second  and 
later  that  only  coarse  goods  could  be  made.^ 

*  Address  printed  in  "  Report  of  Director  General  Inter- 
national Cotton  Exposition,"  at  Atlanta  (1882). 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  81 

The  development  of  the  cotton  industry  in 
North  Carohna  is  a  striking  instance  of  the 
manner  by  which  a  people  in  poor  or  moder- 
ate circumstances  can  establish  manufactures. 
Little  foreign  capital  has  been  invested  in 
North  Carolina,  contrary  to  the  condition  in 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama.  It  is 
manifestly  impossible  to  secure  the  residence 
and  holding  of  every  stockholder;  but  those 
best  informed  estimate  that  90  per  cent,  of 
the  capital  has  been  invested  by  residents  of 
the  state.  Further,  the  Northern  capital  has 
come  chiefly  since  the  success  of  the  mills  has 
been  assured.  The  industry  is  distinctly  a  home 
enterprise,  founded  and  fostered  by  natives 
of  the  state.  During  the  ten  years  just  past, 
several  large  mills  have  been  built  with  foreign 
capital,  but  they  have  not  greatly  changed  the 
proportion.  A  larger  amount  of  such  capital 
has  been  invested  in  mills  already  in  operation, 
or  has  enabled  a  successful  manager  to  enlarge 
his  plant. 

The  ownership  of  the  mills  is  widely  dis- 


82   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

tributed.  While  there  are  many  in  which  a 
single  man,  or  a  single  family  or  group,  owns 
the  whole,  or  a  controlling  interest,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  Holt  family  in  Alamance  and  David- 
son counties,  which  owns  more  than  a  dozen 
mills,  the  stock  in  the  majority  is  widely  dis- 
tributed, owing  to  the  method  of  building, 
which  has  often  been  an  installment  plan,  on 
the  following  order :  — 

The  subscription  to  the  shares  (usually  of  a 
par  value  of  $100)  is  made  payable  in  weekly 
installments  either  of  50  cents  or  $  1  the  share, 
without  interest.  Occasionally  a  mill  has  been 
built  with  a  25  cent  installment.  Experience 
has  shown,  however,  that  this  requires  too 
long  a  period,  as  nearly  eight  years  is  required 
to  pay  the  stock  in  full  as  against  four  or 
two  years  for  the  larger  sums.  Those  having 
ready  money  may  pay  the  whole  amount  at 
once  less  6  per  cent,  discount  for  the  average 
time,  making  the  stock  cost  $89.60  + in  cash. 
Usually  nearly  or  quite  a  year  is  required 
to  construct  the  buildings.    The  installments 


THE   PRESENT  STATE   OF  THE   INDUSTRY     83 

more  than  suffice  to  pay  the  expenses,  as  real 
estate  and  buildings  rarely  cost  more  than 
20  per  cent,  of  the  capital  stock.  The  install- 
ments and  the  amount  paid  by  those  who 
have  taken  advantage  of  the  discount  is  placed 
in  some  bank,  which  is  thus  put  under  obliga- 
tions to  the  mill,  and  besides  has  a  lively  antici- 
pation of  business  to  come.  Often  the  directors 
of  the  mill  are  also  stockholders  or  directors 
of  the  bank.  Machinery  may  be  bought  on  long 
credit,  six,  twelve,  or  even  eighteen  months, 
with  interest  at  6  per  cent,  after  delivery. 
Sometimes  the  makers  of  machinery  have  taken 
a  part  of  the  cost  of  the  machinery  in  stock, 
and  in  a  few  instances  the  commission  houses 
have  also  subscribed  in  order  to  control  the 
product.  There  has  seldom  been  any  bonded 
indebtedness  intended  to  be  permanent. 

Profits  in  the  past  have  been  so  large  that 
often  before  the  last  payment  on  the  stock  is 
due,  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  all  obligations  has 
been  accumulated.  One  especially  successful 
mill  of  this  class,  organized  with  a  capital  of 


84   FKOM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

$100,000,  secured  the  buildings  of  an  unsuc- 
cessful woodworking  establishment,  which  with 
alterations  and  additions  were  adequate  for 
the  purpose.  The  installment  was  fifty  cents 
the  week  on  each  share.  When  $35  a  share 
had  been  paid  in,  in  seventy  weeks,  a  dividend 
of  4  per  cent,  on  the  capitalization  was  de- 
clared, and  it  has  never  failed  to  pay  either  4 
or  5  per  cent,  each  half  year  since.  Further, 
a  large  addition  has  been  built  and  set  in 
motion  from  the  profits  of  less  than  ten  years' 
operation.  This  is  by  no  means  universal. 
Some  have  not  paid  dividends  for  months  after 
the  stock  was  entirely  paid  in,  and  a  few  have 
never  been  profitable. 

At  first,  the  stock  is  widely  distributed. 
Bankers,  merchants,  physicians,  clerks,  lawyers, 
teachers,  mechanics,  and  even  operatives  in 
other  mills  subscribe.  When  difficulty  is  ex- 
perienced in  securing  the  desired  amount,  sub- 
scriptions of  one  share  may  be  accepted.  The 
average  holding  is  seldom  above  $1000.  This 
widest  distribution  does  not  last,  of  course. 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  85 

Some  subscribers  find  difficulty  in  keeping  up 
their  installments  and  transfer  their  subscrip- 
tion to  others;  some  grow  tired  of  waiting 
for  dividends,  which  seem  slow  in  coming. 
Some,  who  have  used  their  subscriptions  as  a 
savings  bank,  sell  in  order  to  buy  a  home,  or  to 
start  in  business  for  themselves/  The  stock 
tends  to  become  concentrated  in  fewer  hands, 
though  a  small  body  of  men  seldom  secures 
control  of  a  successful  mill  of  this  class.  After 
a  time  a  contrary  centrifugal  tendency  develops 
through  division  of  estates,  business  changes, 
etc.,  as  the  stock  is  almost  invariably  held  for 
investment  and  not  for  speculation.  If  a  mill 
is  unprofitable  for  several  years,  a  few  men  may 
gather  in  the  stock  on  the  chance  of  a  successful 
reorganization.  The  North  Carolina  mills  have 
been  almost  invariably  managed  honestly  in 
the  interest  of  all  the  stockholders.     Seldom 

*The  frequency  with  which  new  mills  have  been  started, 
and  the  success  of  the  local  Building  and  Loan  Associa- 
tions, have  a  decided  effect  upon  the  size  of  deposits  in  savings 
banks.  On  this  point,  see  the  testimony  of  S.  Wittkowsky 
before  the  United  States  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  III. 


86  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

have  those  directly  in  control  attempted  to 
'^freeze  out"  the  small  investor,  though  such 
instances  in  other  Southern  states  are  not 
unknown. 

The  effect  of  this  wide  ownership  influences 
public  opinion  in  several  directions.  The  at- 
titude of  any  rural  or  semi-rural  community 
toward  the  larger  corporations  is  generally  hos- 
tile. This  state  is  no  exception,  as  the  verdicts 
in  damage  suits  against  railroads  and  telegraph 
companies  plainly  show.  Toward  the  cotton 
mill,  however,  the  attitude  has  been  decidedly 
friendly.  Boundary  lines  have  often  been 
changed  to  throw  a  proposed  establishment 
outside  the  town  or  village  hmits,  for  a  time  at 
least.  The  mill  thus  escapes  the  payment  of 
town  taxes  until  it  is  well  estabhshed,  and  often 
for  a  considerable  period  thereafter.  Thus 
many  communities  have  a  considerable  popula- 
tion which  really  belongs  to  the  towns,  though 
it  does  not  appear  upon  their  census  or  tax 
returns. 

This  attempt  to  lighten  the  burden  of  taxa- 


THE   PRESENT  STATE   OF  THE   INDUSTRY     87 

tion  is  shown  in  other  ways.  Though  the  law 
demands  that  all  property  shall  be  assessed  at 
its  true  value,  it  has  been  generally  understood 
that  the  assessment  of  real  estate,  hve  stock, 
etc.,  is  not  more  than  two  thirds  to  three 
fourths  of  the  real  value.  The  same  principle 
has  been  applied  to  the  mills.  Formerly  mills, 
which  possibly  had  built  large  extensions  from 
surplus,  would  be  assessed  simply  upon  the 
capital  stock.  A  mill,  the  market  or  book 
value  of  which  amounted  to  100  per  cent, 
advance  on  the  capitahzation,  might  pay  taxes 
upon  only  three  fourths  of  the  capital  stock. 
Though  the  method  of  assessment  has  been 
changed,  the  mills  do  not  yet  pay  taxes  upon 
their  market  value.  This  has  not  been  done 
by  the  collusion  of  corrupt  officials,  but  by 
common  consent. 

In  many  other  ways  the  mills  have  been 
favored.  The  motive  of  many  investors  has 
been  not  only  to  secure  a  profitable  investment 
but  to  "help  the  town."  The  pay  roll  of  a 
),000  mill  —  a  favorite  size  —  ranges  per- 


88   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

haps  from  $200  to  $350  per  week.  The  value 
of  the  cotton  consumed  weekly,  depending  of 
course  upon  the  price  and  the  fineness  of  yam, 
is  between  $400  and  $3000.  Both  the  opera- 
tive and  the  farmer  speiid  a  large  proportion 
of  this  sum  in  the  town.  The  money  paid  for 
fuel  and  other  supplies  is  often  large,  and  the 
influence  of  this  expenditure  in  a  small  town 
is  enormous.  It  is  the  general  sentiment  that 
such  a  stimulus  to  trade  must  be  fostered. 
This  attitude  of  friendliness  is  changing  in  some 
sections,  however,  and  suits  are  more  frequent. 
The  profits  in  the  North  Carolina  mills  have 
been  large.  There  are,  of  course,  as  many 
rates  as  there  are  mills.  The  best  authority 
upon  cotton  manufacturing  in  the  South,  Mr. 
D.  A.  Tompkins  of  Charlotte,  estimates  the 
average  net  profits  for  a  period  of  twenty  years 
up  to  1900  at  about  15  per  cent.  Since  that 
year  the  average  rate  has  probably  been  less. 
Some  mills  have  made  much  more.  Instances 
of  40  to  60  per  cent,  dividends  are  not 
unknown.    In  such  mills,  however,  the  plant 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  89 

has  been  enlarged  from  profits  without  pro- 
portionately increasing  the  capitalization.  A 
mill  which  does  not  accumulate  a  surplus  suf- 
fers during  a  less  profitable  period,  however. 
Even  when  a  surplus  appears  upon  the  books, 
it  is  often  more  apparent  than  real,  since  proper 
allowance  is  not  always  made  for  depreciation. 
The  mills  are  so  new,  and  so  little  is  known  of 
accounting,  that  the  absolute  necessity  of  pro- 
viding a  fund  to  replace  equipment,  when  worn 
or  obsolete,  has  not  been  reahzed  in  every  case. 
The  unsuccessful  mills  are  often  so  because 
of  slavery  to  the  commission  houses  through 
which  they  sell  their  product.  Too  many 
Southern  mills  have  been  built  with  insufficient 
working  capital  or  with  none  at  all.  The  com- 
mission houses  charge  4  per  cent,  on  un- 
bleached cloth,  and  5  per  cent,  on  yams  and 
fancy  cloths,  and  sell  when  and  to  whom  they 
please.  Goods  are  sold  upon  sixty  days'  time, 
with  2  per  cent,  discount  for  cash  within  ten 
days.  The  commission  houses,  many  of  which 
have    banking    connections,    gladly    advance 


90   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

75  to  90  per  cent,  of  the  market  value 
of  unsold  goodS;  charging  the  mill  double  the 
rate  of  interest  which  they  themselves  must 
pay  for  the  money.  Thus  interest  charges 
often  eat  up  profits.  The  commission  house 
to  which  the  mill  is  indebted  may  demand  en- 
tire control  of  its  output,  and  the  manufacturer 
may  not  receive  in  every  case  a  price  as  high 
as  might  be  realized  in  a  market  entirely  free. 
Mills  without  adequate  capital  have  succeeded 
only  because  there  has  been  generally  a  large 
margin  between  cost  of  production  and  the 
average  selling  price.  With  the  great  increase 
of  competition,  the  mill  handicapped  by  debt 
from  the  beginning  finds  successful  operation 
increasingly  difficult.'^ 

An  apparent  contradiction  of  economic  law  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  profits  of  the  smaller 
yarn  mills  have  seemed  to  be  greater  than  those 
of  the  larger  establishments.  While,  owing  to 
the  more   careless   accounting  in  the  smaller 

*  See  Tompkins,  "  Cotton  Mill,  Commercial  Features," 
p.  128,  and  Young,  "American  Cotton  Industry,"  p.  117. 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  91 

mills,  some  of  this  excess  does  not  really  exist, 
all  the  difference  cannot  be  thus  explained. 
The  small  mills  are  usually  in  the  country  or 
in  the  small  towns.  They  draw  their  cotton 
from  the  surrounding  territory,  and  may  save 
sUghtly  in  freights  over  the  mills  which  must 
draw  a  part  of  their  supply  from  other  states. 
In  coarse  goods  the  largest  cost  is  the  raw 
material.^  Purchasing  cotton  in  small  quanti- 
ties is  no  disadvantage  as  the  bale  is  the  unit, 
and  five  may  be  purchased  at  the  same  price  per 
pound  as  a  hundred  or  a  thousand.  Many  of 
these  mills  have  burned  wood  from  the  sur- 
rounding country.  One  and  a  half  to  two  cords 
of  wood  is  estimated  to  produce  as  much  steam 

*  The  following  table,  calculated  by  Mr.  D.  A.  Tompkins, 
shows  the  relation :  — 

Percentage  of  the  Total  Cost  of  Finished  Product  attribu- 
table TO  THE  Factors  of  Material  and  Labor 

Cotton  Labor 


United  States . 

.        .        44%        . 

.        .        26% 

New  England . 

.        .        42%        . 

.        .        28% 

South      . 

.        .        59%        . 

.        .        19% 

A  slight  difference  in  the  price  of  cotton  may  make  a  great 
difference  in  the  rate  of  profit. 


92   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

as  a  ton  of  coal.  When  wood  is  purchased  at 
$1.50  a  cord  or  less  as  compared  with  $3.25  a 
ton  or  more  for  coal,  the  advantage  is  notice- 
able. 

Few  operatives  are  needed  in  one  of  these 
small  mills.  These  possibly  may  be  secured 
from  the  surrounding  farms  and  become  valu- 
able before  they  are  seized  with  the  desire  to 
move  constantly,  the  bane  of  the  factory  popu- 
lation. It  is  easier  for  the  superintendent  to 
secure  the  personal  knowledge  of  his  operatives 
necessary  for  success  in  management.*  On 
account  of  the  smaller  cost  of  living,  wages 
may  be  lower  than  in  the  mill  centers.  The 
rates  of  commission  charged  for  selling  the 
product  are  the  same  as  the  larger  mills  pay, 
or  a  neighboring  mill  takes  the  output.  There 
is  no  complaint  of  freight  discrimination  be- 
tween shippers  in  the  same  territory. 

The  only  disproportionate  expense,  then, 
would  seem  to  be  cost  of  efficient  management 
and  superintendence.    Often  the  superintend- 

^  See  Chap.  XI. 


THE  PEESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  93 

ents  of  these  small  mills  are  men  of  little 
education  or  theoretical  knowledge,  who  have 
worked  up  from  the  position  of  operatives. 
They  know  well  the  practical  side  of  spinning 
the  few  standard  numbers,  and  Httle  attempt 
is  made  to  diversify  product.  They  under- 
stand '^ managing  help,"  but  their  lack  of  train- 
ing unfits  them  for  the  management  of  larger 
and  more  complicated  establishments. 

Sometimes  the  superintendents  are  young 
men  of  education  trained  in  larger  mills  who 
take  these  positions  to  make  reputations. 
They  throw  all  their  energy  into  the  work, 
knowing  that  a  man  of  unusual  ability  and 
success  will  not  long  escape  the  eye  of  the 
managers  of  the  larger  mills.  It  has  been  in- 
creasingly difficult  to  secure  men  having  that 
peculiar  combination  of  qualities  necessary 
for  the  large  establishments.  Custom  has  been 
against  promoting  a  man  in  the  same  estab- 
lishment, and  every  young  man,  no  matter  how 
obscure  his  mill,  is  spurred  on  by  the  possibility 
of  securing  one  of  the  great  prizes.    Enthusiasm 


94   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

counts  and  often  produces  greater  results  than 
experience. 

Further,  a  point  in  favor  of  the  smaller 
mills  has  been  the  increasing  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing competent  managers  of  the  large  mills.  A 
large  body  of  trained  entrepreneurs,  success- 
ful in  the  management  of  large  enterprises,  has 
not  yet  been  developed.  Men  successful  in 
the  smaller  business  are  not  always  propor- 
tionately so  in  the  larger.  When  a  large  estab- 
lishment loses  a  successful  manager,  trouble 
is  often  experienced  in  filling  his  place.  The 
high  grade  of  managing  ability  will  become 
more  common  as  a  larger  proportion  of  the 
population  turns  attention  to  business  careers. 
Already  there  are  individual  managers  able  to 
meet  successfully  any  competition,  and  their 
number  grows  larger.  Meanwhile,  the  smaller 
establishment  has  paid  the  larger  dividends. 

This  condition  cannot  endure,  as  many  of  the 
advantages  enumerated  are  but  temporary. 
The  operatives  show  an  increasing  preference 
for  the  larger  mills,  a  part  perhaps  of  the  general 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDUSTRY  95 

movement  from  country  to  town.  The  supply 
of  wood  is  being  exhausted,  and  as  the  larger 
mill  has  usually  the  more  economical  engines, 
the  cost  of  coal  will  be  proportionately  greater 
in  the  smaller  mills.  The  state  spun  in  1904 
about  96.3  per  cent  of  its  cotton  crop,  and  the 
local  supply  cannot  much  longer  be  depended 
upon.^  The  profits  of  the  smaller  mills,  unless 
favored  by  exceptional  local  conditions,  are 
not  likely  to  continue  so  great, 

^  The  larger  crop  of  1904  reduced  the  percentage  of  con- 
sumption for  1905  to  78.4  per  cent. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  KEAL  FACTORY  OPEEATIVE 

Much  nonsense  has  been  written  and  be- 
lieved concerning  social  conditions  in  the 
South  before  the  Civil  War.  The  large  planter 
with  thousands  of  acres  of  land  and  hundreds 
of  slaves  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  "poor 
white  trash, "  have  been  described  as  compris- 
ing the  whole  white  population. 

The  Northern  writers  have  not  made  suffi- 
cient investigation,  and  the  few  Southerners 
who  have  attempted  to  describe  ante-bellum 
life  have  often  done  so  sentimentally.  Little 
attempt  has  been  made  to  correct  the  preva- 
lent impression,  possibly  from  a  desire  to  be 
considered  as  belonging,  by  descent  at  least, 
to  the  opulent  aristocracy;  possibly  because 
the  truth  is  not  so  interesting  from  a  literary 
standpoint.    A  typical  statement  of  a  North- 

96 


THE  REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE      97 

ern  writer  is  found  in  one  of  the  widely  read 
Chautauqua  Series:  ".  .  .  there  was  no  middle 
class  in  the  South.  The  'poor  whites*  were 
ignorant  and  degraded."  * 

A  very  slight  study  of  conditions  in  the  several 
states  would  have  shown  the  inaccuracy  of  such 
sweeping  statements.  The  white  population  of 
North  Carolina  in  1860,  629,942,  representing 
perhaps  125,000  famihes,  contained  but  34,658 
slaveholders,  and  these  owned  331,059  slaves — 
an  average  of  less  than  10.  Such  a  number 
could  hardly  raise  the  owners  into  the  class  of 
a  feudal  aristocracy.  Moreover,  of  the  total 
slaveholders,  18,316  owned  less  than  5,  and 
12,277  more  from  6  to  20.  Only  3321  owned 
from  20  to  50,  611  from  50  to  100,  and  133 
owned  more  than  100.^  Of  the  311  largest 
slaveholders,  only  87  lived  in  the  Western 
counties,  though  that  section  contained  more 
than  three  fifths  of  the  white  population. 

Land  was,  of  course,  held  in  larger  tracts 

*  Beers,  "  Initial  Studies  in  American  Letters,"  1895. 

*  U.S.  Census  1860,  v.  Population,  p.  351. 


98  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

than  in  the  North,  but  even  in  this  respect, 
conditions  in  the  South  were  by  no  means 
uniform.  The  average  size  of  farms  in  North 
CaroHna  in  1860,  including  the  large  plantations 
in  the  East  (some  of  which  included  much 
apparently  valueless  swamp  land),  and  other 
great  tracts  of  waste  mountain  land  in  the 
West,  was  316.8  acres.  This  is  to  be  compared 
with  an  average  of  536  in  Louisiana,  488  in 
South  Carolina,  and  an  average  of  401.7  in  the 
cotton  states  taken  as  a  whole.  In  all  75,203 
separate  farms  were  reported. 

Further,  of  all  these  farms  69.1  per  cent,  were 
of  less  than  100  acres,  28.7  per  cent,  more  of 
100  to  500,  and  only  2.2  per  cent,  of  more  than 
500  acres.^  The  number  for  each  of  groups 
20  to  50,  50  to  100,  and  100  to  500  was  ahnost 
the  same,  i.e.  20,882  for  the  first,  18,496  for  the 
second,  and  19,220  for  the  third.  The  number 
of  farms  above  1000  acres  was  exactly  the  same 
as  the  number  of  large  slaveholders,  311. 

^  Consult  an  elaborate  study  of  conditions,  Von  Halle, 
"Baumwollproduktion"  (Leipzig,  1898). 


THE  REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  99 

The  character  and  the  hfe  of  the  settlers 
of  the  state  have  already  been  described.  In 
the  East  and  the  adjacent  "pine  barrens"  were 
some  large  plantations,  and  an  approach,  per- 
haps, to  a  ''poor  white"  class.  In  the  extreme 
West,  among  the  mountains,  the  inhabitants 
lived  in  1860  the  same  primitive  lives  that 
their  grandfathers  had  done,  but  in  the  great 
middle  or  Piedmont  region  different  conditions 
prevailed. 

Here  was  a  strong,  sturdy,  middle  class. 
The  proportion  of  slaves  to  whites,  38  per  cent., 
was  smaller  than  in  the  East.  Counting  five 
persons  to  the  white  family,  there  were  only 
1.9  slaves  for  each  group.  The  slaveholders 
in  this  section,  often  held  only  one,  or  a 
single  family,  though  of  course  there  were  many 
who  owned  a  larger  number. 

The  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans  who  had  come 
to  this  region  were  not  desirous  of  escaping 
churches  and  schools.  They  sent  back  to 
Pennsylvania  or  to  Germany  for  ministers, 
and,    particularly    among     the    Scotch-Irish, 


100  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

classical  schools  were  established  by  the  side 
of  the  churches/ 

Clio's  Nursery  in  Iredell,  Zion-Parnassus  in 
Rowan,  and  Dr.  David  Caldwell's  School  in 
Guilford  were  well  known.  Here  young  men, 
particularly  those  preparing  for  the  ministry, 
were  grounded  in  the  classics,  mathematics,  and 
the  strict  Calvinistic  theology  which  their  pre- 
ceptors had  imbibed  at  Princeton.  The  state- 
ment of  Fiske,  that  until  just  before  the  Revo- 
lution there  was  not  a  school,  good  or  bad,  in 
the  province,  is  entirely  untrue.^ 

Education  was  not,  however,  regarded  as  a 
right,  nor  as  a  necessity  for  every  one.  The 
interest  of  the  church  was  foremost;  and  the 
dictum  that  "unsanctified  learning  has  never 
been  of  any  benefit  to  the  church  "  was  generally 
accepted.  The  efforts  of  the  state  to  establish 
a  satisfactory  public  school  system  and  the 
partial  success  have  already  been  mentioned. 

*  Consult  Bernheim,  "  History  of  German  Settlements 
and  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  Carolinas  "  (1872). 

2  Author,  "  Some  Log  Colleges  in  North  Carolina,"  Pres- 
byterian Quarterly,  January,  1900. 


THE   REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  101 

Throughout  this  section  the  people  were 
generally  fairly  industrious,  "good-livers,"  to 
use  a  colloquial  expression,  though  few  became 
wealthy,  even  by  the  moderate  standards  pre- 
vailing before  1860.  Adequate  transportation 
facihties  were  developed  slowly,  and  for  a  long 
time  it  seemed  hardly  worth  while  to  raise 
more  than  could  be  consumed  upon  the  farms. 

The  idea  that  manual  labor  was  a  disgrace 
had  no  foothold  here.  The  more  disagreeable 
kinds  might,  perhaps,  be  called  ''negro  work," 
and  a  certain  repugnance  be  felt  for  such  occu- 
pations. But  dozens  of  the  older  men  have 
told  me  of  working  in  the  fields,  plowing, 
hoeing,  or  gathering  the  crops,  with  the  slaves.* 

These  slaves  belonged  to  their  fathers  or  were 
hired  for  the  work.  A  landowner  whose  labor 
force  was  insufficient  might  hire  the  slaves  of 
minor  heirs  under  the  protection  of  the  courts ; 
or  he  might  secure  the  services  of  his  less 
prosperous     white    neighbors.      Whites    thus 

'  For  similar  conditions  in  middle  Georgia,  read  Joel 
Chandler  Harris's  stories. 


102  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

employed  by  the  smaller  farmers  ate  at  the 
family  table  and  slept  in  the  house,  as  they  do 
to-day. 

Many  of  the  wealthier  families  in  the  Pied- 
mont section,  at  least,  owed  the  beginning  of 
their  fortunes  to  some  artisan  or  small  manu- 
facturer who  bought  land  and  slaves  with  his 
profits.  One  ante-bellum  United  States  senator 
of  culture  and  distinction  was  descended  from 
an  iron  worker;  another  from  a  hatter;  a 
prominent  political  leader  was  the  son  of  a 
cabinetmaker.  Two  prominent  families,  large 
enough,  almost,  to  be  called  clans,  are  de- 
scended, respectively,  from  a  blacksmith  and  a 
tailor. 

Many  men  of  influence  were,  or  had  been, 
merchants.  There  was  no  prejudice  against 
trade.  The  position  of  the  merchant  was  close 
to  that  of  the  lawyer  and  the  doctor.  It  is 
true  that  all  these  classes  were  hkely  to  be 
planters  also.  Every  country  doctor  had  a 
farm.  Nearly  every  lawyer  owned  a  planta- 
tion to  which  he  expected  to  retire  with  ad- 


THE   REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  103 

vancing  years.  To  live  on  a  plantation  com- 
bining otium  cum  dignitate  was  a  well-nigh 
universal  ambition. 

The  planter  in  this  section  did  not  despise 
the  degrees  by  which  he  had  gained  his  ambi- 
tion. Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  Piedmont  section  of  North  Carolina  was 
more  nearly  a  social  democracy  after  1840 
than  were  the  manufacturing  sections  of  New 
England,  where  by  that  date  there  was  a  well- 
defined  manufacturing  aristocracy. 

With  the  war  and  the  ensuing  disorder  and 
demoralization,  two  opposing  movements  were 
apparent.  Many  of  the  small  landowners 
lost  their  land,  and  became  tenant  farmers, 
some  for  a  fixed  money  rent,  but  more  for  a 
share  of  the  crop.  Large  plantations,  however, 
were  divided,  and  some  of  the  negroes  began 
to  acquire  land.  By  1870  the  number  of  farms 
had  increased  to  93,565,  an  increase  of  18,362, 
compared  with  an  increase  of  18,240  from  1850 
to  I860.' 

1  Census  1870. 


104   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

The  renter  in  some  cases  furnished  his  own 
stock,  tools,  seed,  and  labor,  receiving  in  return 
two  thirds  or  three  fourths  of  the  crop,  though 
occasionally  on  rich  alluvial  lands  two  fifths 
were  demanded  for  the  land.  Many  more 
could  furnish  only  the  labor,  and  the  land- 
owner furnished  the  tools,  stock,  etc.  While 
modified  in  individual  cases,  a  rough  under- 
standing grew  common,  that  in  the  division 
of  a  crop,  one  third  was  due  to  land,  one  third 
to  labor,  and  the  remainder  to  stock  and  tools. 

Often,  however,  the  renter  was  unable  to 
sustain  himself  until  the  crop  was  gathered. 
In  such  cases,  supplies  must  be  '^advanced" 
either  by  the  landlord  or  by  the  country 
merchant.  Hence  there  developed  the  system 
of  crop  liens  and  chattel  mortgages,  by  which 
the  farmer  was  enabled  to  mortgage  his  stock, 
and  his  growing,  or  even  his  unplanted,  crops, 
to  secure  the  necessities  of  life.^ 

Many  small  landowners  also  lacked  capital, 

*  For  an  elaborate  and  valuable  study  of  the  tenant  sys- 
tem see  Hammond,  "  The  Cotton  Industry  "  (1897). 


THE  REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  105 

and  were  forced  to  seek  advances  from  the 
merchant.  No  interest  was  charged  upon  such 
advances,  but  the  merchant  gained  his  profit 
by  the  higher  prices  charged  for  all  articles. 
These  prices  have  varied  with  the  neighbor- 
hood, the  character  of  the  merchant,  the  repu- 
tation of  the  mortgagor,  and  sometimes  with 
his  necessity  or  ignorance.  The  general  hmits 
are  perhaps  between  10  per  cent,  and  50  per 
cent,  above  the  regular  cash  prices.  But  as 
the  account  seldom  stood  so  long  as  a  year,  and 
a  large  proportion  of  the  purchases  was  made 
during  the  few  months  before  the  crops  were 
gathered,  the  farmer,  in  debt  to  the  merchant, 
has  paid  on  a  part  or  the  whole  of  his  working 
capital  a  rate  of  interest  ranging  from  25  per 
cent,  to  200  per  cent,  a  year.  To  some  extent 
these  conditions  still  exist. 

Further,  the  opportunity  to  purchase  on 
credit  has  always  been  a  constant  temptation 
to  extravagance.  The  day  of  payment  seems 
far  away  and  the  crop  appears  large  in  pros- 
pect.   Though  the  usual  stock  of  the  country 


106  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

merchant  is  tawdry  and  uninviting,  many  things 
are  pm'chased  which  are  not  strictly  necessary. 
Before  the  crop  is  gathered  the  agreed  advances 
are  sometimes  absorbed,  and  pinching  economy 
may  be  necessary  during  the  last  few  weeks  of 
the  season. 

The  merchant,  also,  has  demanded  a  voice  in 
determining  the  crops  to  be  planted.  Cotton 
and  tobacco  have  been  the  favored  staples. 
Both  contain  comparatively  large  value  in 
small  bulk.  Neither  is  subject  to  deteriora- 
tion to  the  same  extent  as  other  crops.  A 
ready-cash  market,  at  some  price,  is  always 
present  for  either,  and  neither  is  liable  to  a 
total  failure.  To  the  grower  there  is  also  a 
gambler's  chance  of  great  profits. 

The  profit  to  be  made  on  provisions  has  also 
influenced  the  merchant  in  his  choice  of  the 
crops  to  be  planted.  So  tons  of  Western  bacon 
have  been  and  are  still  sold  in  regions  where  hogs 
can  be  easily  and  cheaply  raised.  Western  hay, 
corn,  and  flour  are  sold  in  districts  admirably 
suited  to  the  production  of  grass  and  grains. ; 


THE  REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  107 

When  the  crops  are  gathered,  it  is  necessarily 
an  indictable  offense  to  sell  without  the  mort- 
gagee's consent.  In  fact,  he  is  usually  the  pur- 
chaser, and  the  surplus,  after  accounts  are 
settled,  is  paid  to  the  farmer.  Undoubtedly  the 
price  credited  for  the  products  is  not  always  the 
highest  that  might  be  obtained  in  a  free  market. 
The  grower  cannot  hold  back  his  crop  for  a  pos- 
sible higher  price,  as  the  merchant  naturally 
demands  the  early  settlement  of  his  account. 

The  net  returns  to  the  farmer  of  this  wasteful 
system  are  of  course  small  at  best.  A  partial 
failure  of  his  crop,  or  especially  low  prices 
growing  out  of  generally  excessive  production, 
may  render  the  payment  of  the  merchant's 
accounts  difficult  or  impossible.  In  such  a 
case  the  merchant  has  the  right  to  strip  the 
farmer  of  his  live  stock  and  tools,  but  oftener 
the  unpaid  balance  is  carried  over  to  the  next 
year.  The  meaning  of  the  expression,  "  Two 
years  behind,"  is  obvious.  The  arrears  of  sev- 
eral unprofitable  years  may  reduce  the  farmer 
to  a  state  bordering  upon  despair. 


108  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

By  no  means  all  who  purchase  supplies  on 
credit  are  so  entirely  in  the  power  of  the  mer- 
chant, nor  does  the  latter  grow  so  rich  as  might 
be  expected.  In  spite  of  all  his  precautions, 
a  considerable  proportion  of  his  accounts  are 
uncollectible,  his  assets  are  slow,  and  not  easy 
to  reahze  upon,  if  he  is  himself  pressed.  Often, 
too,  he  shows  mercy  to  the  unfortunate. 
During  the  period  of  depression  following  the 
panic  of  1893,  many  merchants  were  crippled, 
since  the  price  of  all  agricultural  products  was 
so  low  that  the  crops  often  would  not  pay  the 
advances,  and  many  farms  were  abandoned. 

The  Farmers'  Alliance  preached  cooperative 
buying  for  cash  and  many  members  escaped 
from  debt  and  have  not  been  obliged  to  return. 
The  high  price  of  cotton  in  1903-1905  freed 
thousands  more.  Except  among  those  directly 
connected  with  manufacturing,  one  hears  in  the 
South  little  condemnation  of  the  ''Sully  cor- 
ner" of  1903-1904.^    It  is  the  general  feehng 

*  The  attempt  of  the  farmers  to  secure  a  monopoly  price 
for  the  crop  of  1905  has  been  viewed  in  somewhat  the  same 
light. 


THE  REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  109 

that  the  farmer  has  had  an  unfair  share  of  the 
burden  of  government ;  that  he  has  been  com- 
pelled to  buy  in  the  dearest  and  to  sell  in  the 
cheapest  market.  Generally,  speculative  ma- 
nipulation has  been  credited  with  keeping  down 
the  prices  of  agricultural  products,  at  least 
until  the  crops  have  passed  into  the  hands  of 
middlemen  and  speculators. 

In  the  Sully  manipulation  the  farmer  re- 
ceived much  of  the  benefit,  as  the  inflation  began 
before  the  whole  crop  had  left  his  hands.  The 
higher  prices  brought  freedom  and  hope  to  the 
Southern  farmer,  and  stimulated  trade  in  com- 
forts and  simple  luxuries.  A  new  buggy,  a 
cabinet  organ,  a  suite  of  furniture,  a  new 
kitchen  stove,  improved  machinery  for  the 
farm,  were  some  of  the  results.  Perhaps  a 
son  or  a  daughter  gained  the  coveted  oppor- 
tunity of  a  year  at  an  academy  or  at  college. 

With  these  people,  the  small  landowner  and 
the  tenant  farmer  from  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, the  factory  villages  have  been  filled.  The 
mountain   counties   have   furnished   compara- 


110   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

lively  few  operatives  to  the  North  Carohna 
mills.  The  establishments  in  upper  South 
CaroUna  have  drawn  a  somewhat  larger  pro- 
portion of  their  operatives  from  the  mountain 
people.  No  operatives  were  imported  from 
abroad  when  the  mills  were  built.  There  was 
then  no  urban  population,  hardly  a  village 
population.^  The  mills  have  been  filled  with  a 
population  coming  from  the  soil,  as  was  to  a 
great  extent  the  case  in  New  England  seventy 
or  eighty  years  ago. 

Here  and  there  are,  however,  a  few  individ- 
uals who  have  traditions  of  culture  and  wealth. 
Descendants  of  men  who  possibly  held  high 
position  in  the  state  and  nation  now  earn  their 
bread  at  the  spinning  frames  or  at  the  looms. 
Ruined  by  the  war  in  some  cases,  their  fathers 
were  unable  to  adjust  themselves  to  changed 
conditions.  The  children  have  lacked  the  train- 
ing to  fit  them  for  more  responsible  positions, 
and  the  mill  furnishes  a  hving. 

These  people  are  all  Americans,  and  hundreds 

*  Chapter  I. 


THE   REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  111 

could  qualify  as  Sons  or  Daughters  of  the  Revo- 
lution. They  have  lived  simple,  primitive  lives 
upon  the  soil  in  a  sparsely  populated  commu- 
nity. In  1900  only  36.6  per  cent,  of  the  land 
was  in  cultivation.  They  have  lacked  the 
stimulus  arising  from  free  association  with 
the  world.  Even  association  with  their  neigh- 
bors was  not  easy. 

The  monthljT-  or  semi-monthly  church  ser- 
vices were  attended  with  regularity.  A  day 
or  two  at  the  quarterly  or  semi-annual  sessions 
of  the  Superior  Court  at  the  county  seat  brought 
many  together.  In  fact  ''Tuesday  of  Court" 
sees  perhaps  the  largest  number  of  farmers  in 
town  next  to  ''Circus  Day."  Political  meetings 
are  attended  and  the  country  store  on  Satur- 
day afternoon  has  always  been  a  meeting  place. 
In  the  summer,  when  "crops  are  laid  by"  and 
farm  work  is  slack,  a  neighbor's  family  comes  to 
"spend  the  day."  But  of  incidental  social  in- 
tercourse in  the  daily  round  of  work  there  is 
little. 

Facilities  for  education  have  been  lacking, 


112  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

and  many  are  illiterate.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  those  growing  up  in  the  decade  between 
1860  and  1870.  This  ignorance  does  not  neces- 
sarily imply  that  they  are  dangerous  citizens. 
It  is  easy  to  make  a  fetish  of  the  ability  to  read 
and  write.  Yet  society  may  dread  more  the 
discontented  literate  than  the  ignorant  farmer. 
Their  ignorance  has  made  them  an  obstacle  to 
progress  rather  than  a  positive  menace  to  the 
existing  order.^ 

Their  lack  of  knowledge  has  intensified  their 
conservatism,  and  bhnded  them  to  possibilities 
of  ultimate  good  at  the  cost  of  present  dis- 
comfort ;  but  nevertheless  many  of  them  think. 
Following  the  plow,  they  turn  over  in  their 
minds  the  arguments  heard  at  the  political 
joint  discussion,  or  the  position  of  the  lawyer 
or  of  the  squire.  Their  thinking  is  not  always 
clear  nor  logical,  but  often  their  sturdy  common 
sense  brings  them  to  surprisingly  logical  con- 
clusions. Ilhteracy  in  a  city  slum  and  in  a 
rural   community   are   not    identical   dangers. 

»  Read  Ingle,  "  Southern  Side  Lights  "  (1896),  Ch.  V. 


THE   EEAL  FACTORY   OPERATIVE  113 

The  dangers  of  an  illiterate  mill  population 
are  yet  to  come  in  the  state. 

The  term  ''poor  white  trash"  applied  so 
often  by  Northern  writers  to  the  mill  popula- 
tion is  almost  unknown  in  Piedmont  Carolina. 
During  a  residence  of  twenty-five  years  in  that 
section,  the  writer  heard  the  expression  used 
by  whites  hardly  a  dozen  times,  and  seldom 
by  negroes.  A  servile  white  class  does  not 
exist.    This  fact  cannot  be  stated  too  forcibly. 

Speaking  broadly,  this  stratum  of  the  rural 
population  —  it  is  not  a  class  —  is  an  honest, 
self-respecting,  law-abiding,  God-fearing  people. 
In  many  neighborhoods  doors  are  not  locked  at 
night.  As  a  result  of  whisky,  personal  encoun- 
ters are  not  unknown,  but  the  percentage  of 
crime  is  low.  Sexual  immorality  is  not  com- 
mon. The  people  are  poor,  but  the  number  of 
paupers  is  small.  They  are  unprogressive,  they 
fail  to  make  the  most  of  their  opportunities, 
but  they  are  not  degraded.  It  is  suspended  or 
arrested  development  rather  than  degeneracy.^ 

»  Page,  "The  Rebuilding  of  Old  Commonwealths"  (1902). 


114  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Intellect  and  ambition  are  dormant,  rather 
than  dead.  Every  year  boys  and  girls,  fired 
with  the  desire  for  learning,  enter  school  or 
college.  A  large  proportion  of  the  graduating 
classes  of  many  institutions  comes  from  this 
stratum  of  the  population.  The  college  author- 
ities can  tell  almost  incredible  stories  of  persist- 
ence in  the  face  of  difficulties.  In  spite  of 
insufficient  preparation,  these  boys  and  girls 
often  stand  high  in  their  classes  and  become 
leaders  in  many  departments  of  the  college 
life.^ 

The  motives  for  the  migration  to  the  mill 
are  various.  Some  of  the  propelling  forces  have 
already  been  mentioned.  Underlying  all  is 
the  hope  of  bettering  the  general  condition  of 
the  family,  of  receiving  larger  returns  for  the 
family  labor.  The  hope  of  gaining  at  the  mills 
better  housing,  better  food,  better  clothing, 
together  with  the  inarticulate  social  instinct, 
fills  the  factory  tenements. 

^  For  an  instance,  see  New  York  Evening  Post,  June  5, 
1905. 


THE   REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  115 

Observation  seems  to  divide  those  coming 
to  the  mills  into  five  classes.  First,  is  the 
honest  man,  ambitious  for  his  children,  who 
comes  intending  to  work  himself  and  hopeful 
of  greater  advantages  for  the  education  of  the 
children,  since  the  school  term  in  the  mill 
village  is  twice  as  long  as  in  the  country. 

Next  is  the  incapable  or  the  shiftless,  the  man 
who  lacks  the  mental  qualifications  or  the  moral 
steadfastness  necessary  for  success  in  an  inde- 
pendent capacity.  He  may  work  hard,  but 
faulty  judgment  renders  his  efforts  impotent. 
His  condition  at  the  mills  is  not  likely  to  be 
worse  and  may  be  better. 

A  third  class  comprises  those  suffering  from 
some  physical  disability,  real  or  imaginary. 
They  are,  or  fancy  they  are,  incapacitated 
for  the  hard  work  of  the  farm  and  the  neces- 
sary exposure  to  the  weather.  Perhaps  the 
children  are  girls  who  cannot  do  the  rough 
work  in  the  fields. 

The  fourth  class  is  composed  of  widows. 
Among  these  people,  life  insurance  is  not  com- 


116      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

ttion.  The  death  of  the  head  of  the  family 
makes  the  cultivation  of  the  farm  a  serious 
problem.  If  the  family  is  to  be  kept  together, 
the  mill  seems  the  only  refuge. 

There  is  another  class,  those  who  come  to 
the  mills  with  the  dehberate  intention  of  living 
a  Hfe  of  ease  on  the  earnings  of  their  children. 
Tired  of  the  constant  struggle  upon  the  farms, 
they  shift  the  burden  upon  younger  shoulders. 
They  discuss  politics  and  neighborhood  affairs 
around  the  store  in  the  winter  and  in  the  shade 
in  the  summer.  They  carry  the  provisions 
from  the  store,  and,  perhaps,  if  the  house  is 
remote  from  the  mill,  take  the  dinner  to  their 
children.  The  epithet  '' tin-bucket  toter" 
has  been  coined  for  them.  This  class  is  not 
large  at  first,  but  receives  accessions  from 
the  first  three  classes,  the  members  of  which 
find  it  a  difficult  task  to  take  up  a  new  employ- 
ment after  age  has  taken  away  adaptability. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  original  motives 
of  the  immigrants,  the  general  result  is  the 
great   problem   of   child   labor.    The   process 


THE  REAL  FACTORY  OPERATIVE  117 

and  the  extent  to  which  the  children  assume 
the  support  of  the  family  belong  to  the  chapter 
on  Child  Labor,  where  that  grave  question 
will  be  discussed  more  fully. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   OPERATIVES  AT  WORK 

North  Carolina,  as  has  been  previously 
stated,  has  a  larger  number  of  separate  mills 
than  any  other  state,  though  in  production 
she  is  only  third.  The  figures  for  1904, 
the  latest  available,  show  304  separate  textile 
estabhshments  ^  having  2,178,964  spindles  and 
48,612  looms,  an  average  to  the  establishment 
(excluding  the  knitting  mills)  of  8285  spindles 
and  185  looms.^  Mills  with  about  this  number 
of  spindles  are  often  found,  while  many  mills 
have  no  looms  at  all.  To  follow  a  bale  of  cotton 
through  a  mill  of  average  size  and  to  study  the 
processes  and  the  workers  who  handle  it,  will 
give  much  aid  toward  a  clear  conception  of  the 
problem. 

^  Including  forty-one  knitting  mills,  and  twelve  small 
woolen  mills  the  statistics  of  which  are  not  separately  given. 

^  The  figures  for  1905  which  became  available  after  the 
chapter  was  in  type  do  not  affect  the  general  ratio. 

118 


THE   OPERATIVES  AT  WORK  119 

The  cotton  is  delivered  at  the  mills  in  bales, 
packed  in  jute  or  cotton  bagging,  just  as  they 
came  from  the  gins.  The  standard  bale  is 
500  pounds,  but  the  actual  range  is  from  375 
to  600  pounds,  with  more  bales  below  than 
above  the  standard  weight.  There  is  no 
standard  size,  but  the  average  is  perhaps 
30  X  48  X  54  inches. 

The  bales  go  first  to  the  picker  room,  which 
is  shut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  mill  by  fireproof 
walls,  or  else  is  in  a  building  entirely  separate. 
Here  the  bagging  and  the  ties  (bands  of  strap 
iron  encirchng  the  bales)  are  removed.  Hand- 
fuls  are  taken  from  several  bales  in  turn  and 
thrown  into  a  bin  in  order  to  average  as  far  as 
possible  any  differences  in  moisture,  color,  and 
length  of  fiber.  The  bales  may  have  been 
raised  upon  different  kinds  of  soil  under  vary- 
ing climatic  influences.  The  treatment  at  the 
gin  and  in  storage  may  have  been  different. 
Some  have  been  stored  in  a  dry  place  while 
others  have  been  exposed  to  the  weather. 
Mixing  in  the  Southern  mills  is  not  so  impor- 


120      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

tant  as  in  England  or  New  England,  where 
there  is  more  variation  in  the  raw  material  and 
where  mixing  different  grades  to  secure  stock 
at  a  given  price  is  studied  with  care/ 

The  cotton  thus  mixed  is  fed  to  the  '^opener," 
which  loosens  the  fibers  that  have  been  closely 
interlocked  and  compressed,  and  begins  the 
work  of  knocking  or  blowing  out  the  dust, 
trash,  motes,  and  other  foreign  matter.  The 
man  in  charge  of  opening  the  bales  and  of  this 
machine  is  called  the  ^'opener."  The  task 
demands  only  strength  and  a  minimum  of 
intelHgence.  Sometimes  the  opener  is  a  negro, 
and  this  is  usually  the  only  position  inside  the 
mill  which  one  of  that  color  may  hold. 

Next  the  cotton  is  fed  into  a  ''lapper,"  which 
continues  the  work  of  untangling  the  fibers, 
removing  impurities,  including  broken  ends 
or  short  lint.  It  is  delivered  in  the  form  of 
'^laps,"  which  are  sheets  of  batting  of  loose 
texture  36  to  45  inches  wide  and  usually  48 
yards  long,  weighing  from  10  to  18  ounces  the 

^  Nasmith,  "  Students  Cotton  Spinning,"  p.  90. 


THE   OPERATIVES   AT   WORK  121 

yard.  For  the  purpose  of  further  mixing  and 
in  order  to  equalize  any  differences  in  weight 
or  thickness,  a  number  of  these  laps,  usually 
four,  are  superimposed  and  drawn  out  into  one 
of  the  same  weight  as  each  of  its  constituent 
parts.  This  process  is  usually  repeated,  and 
occasionally  a  second  time.  A  white  man 
manages  these  machines. 

The  laps  are  now  taken  to  the  ''cards," 
which  continue  the  work  of  untangHng  the 
fibers  and  remove  the  impurities  left  by  the 
previous  machines.  The  fibers  are  rendered 
approximately  parallel,  and  the  cotton  is 
dehvered  in  the  form  of  ''sHver,"  which  is 
simply  a  loose,  untwisted  cotton  rope  a  Httle 
less  than  one  inch  in  diameter  and  weighing 
yard  for  yard  hardly  a  hundredth  part  as  much 
as  the  lap.  By  an  ingenious  device  the  sHver 
is  deposited  coiled  in  cylindrical  cans.  One  or 
two  men,  with  the  ''card-room  boss,"  who  has 
general  charge  of  all  the  processes  thus  far, 
can  manage  these  machines  in  an  8000  spindle 
mill. 


122  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

From  four  to  eight  cans  of  sliver  go  to  each 
'^drawing  frame, "  of  which  the  essential  feature 
is  pairs  of  rollers  moving  at  unequal  and  in- 
creasing speed.  The  fibers  are  rendered  par- 
allel, and  any  inequality  in  the  constituent 
shvers  is  made  less  important  by  combination 
with  the  others.  The  product  delivered  from 
the  most  rapid  rollers  is  a  single  rope  of  prac- 
tically the  same  weight  as  each  of  its  constitu- 
ent parts.  This  evening  up  is  so  important 
that  the  process  is  usually  repeated  twice.  If 
six  ends  are  fed  each  time  into  the  machine, 
it  is  obvious  that  6  x  6  x  6  =  216  ends  have 
been  drawn  into  one.  Two  or  three  men  or 
strong  women  will  manage  this  process. 

The  sHver  is  now  fed  to  the  "slubber,"  which 
reduces  the  thickness  and  imparts  a  shght 
twist.  The  product  is  now  ^'slubbing"  and 
is  wound  upon  large  bobbins  to  be  ready  for 
the  next  process.  The  ''intermediates"  con- 
tinue the  attenuation  and  twisting,  and  the 
process  is  carried  further  by  the  ''fine  frames," 
which  are  almost  duphcates  of  the  intermedi- 


THE   OPERATIVES  AT  WORK  123 

ates.  Two  or  three  men  manage  the  slubbers, 
the  same  number  of  men  or  women  the  inter- 
mediates, and  four  or  five  the  "speeders,"  as 
the  fine  frames  are  often  called.  The  stock, 
now  become  '^roving,"  is  ready  for  the 
final  drawing  out  and  twist  imparted  by  the 
spinning  frames  proper,  or  by  the  ''mules." 

In  the  South,  mules  are  little  used,  and 
practically  all  the  yarn  is  spun  upon  ring 
frames.  These  are  36  to  39  inches  wide,  and 
have  two  sides.  The  length  varies,  but  27 
feet  is  most  common.  This  length  contains, 
of  the  yams  most  generally  spun,  numbers 
16  to  30,  104  spindles  on  each  side,  or  208  to 
each  frame. 

So  far  the  twist  imparted  has  been  only 
enough  to  keep  the  cotton  together.  Now  the 
bobbins  of  roving  are  placed  in  creels,  and  the 
ends  again  run  between  pairs  of  rollers  revolv- 
ing at  unequal  speed.  The  spindles  driven  at 
high  speed,  from  5000  to  10,000  revolutions 
the  minute,  impart  the  twist,  and  by  action  of 
the  ''traveler"  the  resulting  yarn  is  wound 


124      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

upon  the  bobbins.  The  high  speed  and  the 
tension  cause  the  threads  to  break  frequently, 
and  these  must  be  twisted  together. 

Girls  nearly  all  below  the  age  of  sixteen  do 
this  work,  each  one  looking  after  from  one  to 
eight  "sides,"  i.e.  from  104  to  832  spindles. 
Eight  sides  has  been  the  Hmit  of  economical 
operation  in  the  South,  as  frequently  several 
threads  break  at  the  same  moment  and  that 
part  of  the  machine  is  idle  until  they  are 
mended. 

Only  the  youngest  beginners  are  confined 
to  one  side.  The  average  in  different  mills 
lies  between  three  and  six.  This  varies  with 
scarcity  of  operatives  as  well  as  with  absolute 
skill.  When  labor  is  plenty,  the  number  of 
sides  allotted  to  each  girl  is  smaller,  as  thus  a 
nearer  approach  to  production  (the  amount 
theoretically  possible  for  each  spindle  to  de- 
liver) may  be  secured.  As  wages  are  paid  by 
the  side,  each  girl  is  naturally  ambitious  to  run 
as  many  as  possible.  The  work  requires  little 
physical  strength,  but  a  high  degree  of  dexterity 


THE   OPERATIVES  AT  WORK  125 

comes  to  the  experienced  spinner  before  she  is 
advanced  to  the  looms.  In  a  mill  where  all 
machinery  is  first-class,  when  the  raw  material 
is  of  good  quahty  and  the  atmospheric  condi- 
tions are  right,  there  is  nothing  to  do  for  con- 
siderable intervals.  On  another  day  the  threads 
break  constantly  and  all  possible  nimbleness 
cannot  keep  all  the  spindles  running.  Constant 
watchfuhiess  is  always  required. 

The  full  bobbins  are  removed  and  empty 
ones  placed  in  their  stead  by  boys,  ^^doffers," 
and  the  operation  is  called  ''doffing."  They 
work  exceedingly  rapidly,  but  have  long 
periods  of  rest.  In  all  they  work  from  20  to 
45  minutes  in  every  hour.  Often  when  they 
will  not  be  needed  before  the  closing  time, 
they  are  dismissed  before  the  other  operatives, 
or  occasionally  are  allowed  to  play  out  of  doors 
until  they  are  needed.^  The  mill  of  which  we 
are  speaking  would  have  40  machines,  80  sides, 
and  16  to  24  spinners.  Nine  or  10  doffers 
can  keep  the  machines  clear.    In  addition  there 

1  Bulletin  Bureau  of  Labor  (U.S.),  No.  52,  p.  514. 


126     FEOM  COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

will  be  an  overseer  of  spinning  and  a  section 
hand,  both  men. 

The  bobbins  are  necessarily  wound  with 
irregular  tension,  as  the  thread  circles  from 
bottom  to  top.  To  remedy  this,  the  yarn  frona 
several  bobbins  is  now  wound  regularly  and 
smoothly,  with  no  additional  twist,  upon  a 
spool.  Usually  girls  or  women  run  the  spoolers, 
and  8  to  12  will  be  required. 

For  single  yarns  the  processes  heretofore 
described  are  the  same  whether  the  yarn  is 
to  be  woven  on  the  premises  or  to  be  sold.  If 
''ply"  yarns  are  desired,  2  to  6  of  the  strands 
are  twisted  into  a  single  cord,  by  special  machin- 
ery managed  by  5  or  6  men.  But  whether 
single  or  twisted,  the  processes  through  which 
the  yarn  now  goes  differ  according  to  its  des- 
tination. If  it  is  to  be  sold,  from  1000  to  2000 
spools  are  taken  to  the  '^Denn  warper,"  which 
draws  them  all  into  one  great  rope  or  skein, 
and  knots  or  links  them  together  to  prevent 
tangling.  It  is  then  ready  to  be  baled  for 
the  market.    One  man  has  charge  of  the  ma- 


THE  OPERATIVES   AT   WORK  127 

chine.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  yarn  is  to 
be  woven  upon  the  premises,  the  threads  de- 
signed for  the  warp  (lengthwise),  from  300  to 
600  spools,  go  to  the  beam  warper.  Here 
they  are  wound  upon  cylindrical  beams.  Again 
one  man  has  charge. 

From  3  to  6  beams,  depending  upon  the 
width,  fineness,  etc.,  of  the  cloth  to  be  woven 
now  go  to  the  slasher  to  be  "sized."  The 
'^ends"  (separate  threads),  say  400  on  each 
beam,  now  pass  through  a  box  containing  starch, 
tallow,  and  sometimes  other  ingredients,  which 
serve  to  stiffen  and  strengthen  the  yarn,  and 
render  it  smooth.  As  they  pass  out  they  are 
drawn  between  heated  cylinders,  and  the  ends 
are  wound  upon  a  loom  beam.  One  man  only, 
with  a  little  outside  help  for  the  heavy  lifting, 
is  required  in  this  position. 

The  loom  beams  must  now  be  "put  into  har- 
ness," as  the  arrangement  of  the  heddles  and 
reeds  in  the  looms  is  called.  Each  separate 
end,  sometimes  more  than  2000,  must  be  drawn 
through  an  eye  in  the  harness  and  a  dent  in 


128     FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

the  reed.  Three  girls  do  this  work,  called 
"drawing-in,"  which  is  probably  more  trying 
on  eyesight  and  nerves  than  any  other  position 
in  the  mill.  A  recent  invention  promises  to  set 
free  these  workers. 

These  loom  beams,  with  the  ends  drawn  into 
harness,  are  now  adjusted  in  the  looms.  The 
filling  (threads  running  across  the  cloth)  comes 
directly  from  the  frames  on  bobbins  ready  to 
be  placed  in  the  shuttles.  The  operatives  are 
adults,  men  and  women.  Their  duties  are  to 
keep  the  ends  mended,  and  fresh  bobbins  in  the 
shuttles.  Some  strength  and  judgment  is  re- 
quired, as  the  loom  is  a  comphcated  machine. 
The  number  of  looms  which  can  be  managed 
by  a  single  weaver  varies  with  the  quahty, 
weight,  width,  and  color  of  the  cloth,  the 
style  of  the  loom,  and  also  with  the  skill, 
strength,  and  natural  or  inherited  aptitude  of 
the  weaver  himself.  Occasionally  a  weaver 
will  manage  8  common  looms,  excellent  weav- 
ers have  6,  a  greater  number  has  4,  and  the 
younger    and    more    inexperienced    have    2. 


THE   OPERATIVES   AT   WORK  129 

With  the  automatic  loom,  which  throws  out 
the  empty  bobbin  and  takes  a  full  one  from  a 
creel,  an  operative  can  manage  from  12  to 
24.  In  our  mill  of  8285  spindles,  the  num- 
ber of  regular  looms  necessary  to  consume  the 
yarn  varies  from  200  to  250,  depending  upon 
the  fineness  of  the  yarn  and  the  goods  woven. 
There  will  be  45  to  60  operatives,  a  ''weave 
boss,"  and  2  "  loom  fixers."  Payment  is  by 
the  cut  of  40  to  60  yards. 

The  cloth  as  woven  is  wound  upon  a  beam 
holding  several  cuts.  The  cloth  on  a  number 
of  beams  is  sewed  into  a  strip  and  passes 
through  a  machine  variously  known  as  a 
''brusher,"  ''shearer,"  or  "calendar."  This 
shears  off  the  loose  threads,  emery  wheels 
grind  off  the  rough  places,  and  after  the  cloth 
has  passed  through  a  steam  jet,  heated  rollers 
iron  it  smoothly.  Next  the  cloth  goes  to  the 
"folder,"  which  makes  the  bolts  seen  in  the 
shops.  After  stamping  and  baling,  the  cloth 
is  ready  for  the  market.  Two  or  three  men 
have  charge  of  these  three  processes. 


130   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 


From  the  foregoing  account  it  appears  that 
the  labor  force  employed  in  the  average  North 
CaroHna  cotton  mill  which  spins  only  is  as 
follows :  — 


I.  1  Superintendent. 

IX.  4-5  Speeder  hands. 

II.  1  Card-room  boss. 

X.  1  Overseer  of  spinning. 

III.  1  Opener, 

XI.  2  Section  hands. 

IV.  1  Picker  hand. 

XII.  16-24  Spinners  (girls). 

V.  1-2  Card  hands. 

XIII.  8-10  Doflfers  (boys). 

VI.  2-3  Draw-frame  hands. 

XIV.  8-12  Spoolers. 

VII.  2-3  Slubber  hands. 

XV.  (4-6  Twisters,     if    ply 

VIII.  2-3  Intermediate 

yam  is  desired). 

hands. 

XVI.  1  Warper  (man). 

In  addition  there  wil 

Ibe:  — 

XVII.  1  Band  boy. 

XX.  1  Baler. 

XVIII.  2-3  Sweepers   ( old 

XXI.  1  Engineer. 

men). 

XXII.  1  Fireman. 

XIX.  1  Oiler  and  bander. 

XXIII.  2-4  Truckmen. 

Say  40  to  50  adults,  and  28  to  40  children,  as 
occasionally  a  boy  or  girl  below  the  age  of 
16  may  work  at  the  draw  frames,  spoolers,  or 
twisters.  The  percentage  of  children  ranges 
from  35  to  45. 

If  the  mill  has  looms  and  weaves  its  yarn 
into  cloth,  the  warper  (XVI)  will  be  omitted, 
and  we  have  in  addition :  — 


THE   OPERATIVES   AT   WORK 


131 


XXIV. 
XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 


1  Filler  (man). 
1  Spooler  to  warper 

(woman). 
1  Beam  warper 

(man). 
1  Slasher  tender 

(man). 
3  Drawing-in  girls. 


XXIX.  1  Weave  boss 

(man). 
XXX.  2  Section  hands 

(men). 
XXXI.  45-60  Weavers  (men 

and  women). 
XXXII.  1  Calendar  (man). 
XXXIII.  1  Folder  (man). 


Fifty-five  to  70  additional  employees  will  be 
needed,  practically  all  above  16  years  of  age. 
The  drawing-in  girls  and  an  occasional  weaver 
may  be  younger.  It  is  obvious  that  the  pro- 
portion of  children  in  a  yarn  mill  is  much  larger 
than  in  a  cloth  mill.  In  a  mill  where  no  spin- 
ning is  done,  as  in  many  mills  around  Phila- 
delphia, the  number  of  children  will  be  small, 
almost  neghgible;  but  as  the  proportion  of 
spindles  grows,  the  number  of  children  grows 
with  it. 

This  is  particularly  true  when  the  spinning 
is  done  upon  ring  frames.  It  is  not  so  true 
where  the  mules  are  extensively  used.  The 
''mule,"  which  is  to-day  simply  an  elaboration 
of  Crompton's  original  invention,  has  the 
spindles  attached  to  a  movable  carriage  which 


132   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

travels  away  from  the  rollers  which  deliver 
the  roving,  and  in  this  progress  receives  its 
twist  equally.  The  yam  is  wound  evenly 
upon  the  spindles  as  the  carriage  returns. 
The  regularity  of  tension  causes  less  breaking 
of  the  yam.  Much  finer  yam  can  be  spun  upon 
mules  than  upon  frames  for  this  reason.  Num- 
bers 60  to  100  is  the  Hmit  upon  frames,  while 
number  500  may  be  spun  upon  mules. ^  The 
yam  is  also  softer  and  for  some  purposes  is 
indispensable.  Only  men  or  exceptionally 
strong  women  can  operate  these  machines, 
sometimes  containing  1500  spindles,  and  a 
high  degree  of  skill  is  necessary.  The  process 
is  more  expensive  and  the  product  per  spindle 
is  less.  So  far  the  Southem  mills  have  been 
occupied  chiefly  with  the  lower  numbers,  and 
few  mules  are  in  operation.    In  New  England 

^  In  the  notation  of  yam  the  iinit  is  the  relation  of  the 
"hank"  of  840  yards  to  the  pound.  Number  20  yam 
means  that  20  hanks  each  of  840  yards  will  be  required  to 
weigh  a  pound;  number  36,  that  36  hanks  will  weigh  a 
pound,  and  so  on.  It  is  obvious  that  the  lower  numbers  are 
the  coarser. 


THE  OPERATIVES   AT  WORK  133 

a  large  proportion  of  the  spindles  are  upon 
mules  (4,477,199;  compared  with  8,373,788  on 
frames  ^),  and  this  has  something  to  do  with 
the  proportion  of  children  employed,  entirely 
regardless  of  any  legal  enactments.  Where 
a  class  of  operatives  cannot  be  used  profitably, 
economic  law  alone  will  prevent  its  employ- 
ment. 

The  hours  of  labor  in  the  North  Carolina 
mills  are  long.  Before  the  passage  of  the  act 
of  1903,  limiting  the  number  of  working  hours 
in  a  week  to  66,  the  length  ranged  from  63  to 
75,  with  the  average  close  to  69.  In  the  early 
days  of  manufacturing  there  was  no  objection 
to  these  long  hours.  The  length  of  the  day  in 
the  fields  during  the  summer  was  much  longer. 
"From  sun-up  to  sun-down"  was  a  rough 
method  of  measuring  the  working  day  of  the 
unskilled  laborer.  Since  the  work  in  the  mills 
required  much  less  muscular  exertion,  the  hours 
were  not  considered  excessive.  The  fact  that 
this  longer  day  in  the  fields  was  in  force  for  only 

»  Census  1900,  BuUetin  215. 


134   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

a  part  of  the  year,  was  not  considered.  Since 
the  operatives  did  not  complain,  and,  in  fact, 
petitioned  against  a  change,  the  pubhc  was  not 
incHned  to  interfere.  The  feeling  that  a  con- 
tract for  wages  and  hours  is  a  matter  for  the 
parties  immediately  concerned,  was  strong. 

With  the  agitation  for  shorter  hours  and  an 
age  limit,  came  strong  opposition  from  all 
parties  directly  concerned.  The  legislature  of 
1901,  however,  would  have  passed  a  bill,  but 
for  an  agreement  signed  by  most  of  the  mills, 
limiting  the  hours  of  labor  to  66,  and  the  mini- 
mum age  of  operatives  to  12  years.  This 
agreement  was  not  faithfully  kept,  and  the 
legislature  of  1903  enacted  the  present  law.^ 

Since  the  passage  of  the  act  limiting  the  week 
to  66  hours,  the  following  scheme  has  been 
followed.  The  day  operatives  enter  the  mill 
at  six  in  the  morning  and  work  12  hours, 
with  an  intermission  of  30  to  45  minutes 
for  dinner  at  noon,  on  5  days  of  the  week. 

^  For  further  discussion,  see  the  chapter  on  Child  Labor, 
p.  219. 


THE   OPERATIVES   AT   WORK  135 

On  Saturday  they  work  from  six  until  twelve. 
The  night  operatives  work  from  six-thirty  or 
six-forty-five  until  six  in  the  morning,  with 
an  intermission  of  15  minutes  at  midnight.  On 
Saturday  night,  of  course,  work  stops  at  twelve. 

Night  work  has  been  almost  universal,  par- 
ticularly in  the  spinning  department,  though 
it  is  now  decreasing.  The  spinning  frames 
have  been  run  22  or  23  hours  in  every- 
day. This  has  been  done  to  keep  up  with 
orders  and  to  wear  out  the  machinery. 
Night  work  is  always  inferior  to  that  done  by 
day.  The  best  operatives  will  not  usually 
work  at  night,  and  many  of  those  who  do,  can- 
not or  will  not  take  sufficient  sleep  during  the 
day.  The  younger  operatives  are  more  careless 
and  inefficient.  Not  so  much  is  accomplished, 
though  the  wages  per  hour  are  always  higher. 
During  especially  profitable  periods  mills 
have  sometimes  run  only  5  nights  while  pay- 
ing for  6. 

But  even  if  the  percentage  of  profit  on  the 
night  work  is  much  smaller,  it  may  be  counted 


136   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

as  profit  in  the  total  production  of  a  machine. 
Improvements  in  machinery  have  come  so 
rapidly  that  a  machine  can  seldom  be  run  until 
it  is  no  longer  capable  of  effective  work.  While 
it  is  still  in  good  condition  it  is  supplanted  by  an 
improved  pattern,  which  the  constant  com- 
petition of  the  new  mills  forces  the  older  ones 
to  install. 

The  used  machinery,  though  in  good  order 
and  capable  of  good  work,  must  be  sold  for  a 
small  fraction  of  its  cost,  or  else  discarded 
outright  and  sent  to  the  scrap  heap.  By  run- 
ning it  both  day  and  night  a  greater  propor- 
tion of  the  total  effective  productivity  may 
be  utihzed.  Many  shrewd  operators  do  night 
work  for  this  reason.  The  social  disadvantages 
appeal  so  strongly  to  others,  that  only  when  the 
lure  of  profits  is  tempting,  do  they  yield  to  the 
pressure,  while  some  mills  have  never  run  at 
night  at  all. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WAGES  AND  COST  OP  LIVING 

In  studying  the  economic  condition  of  a 
people,  it  is  necessary,  before  pronouncing 
judgment,  to  consider  status,  environment, 
and  inherited  customs,  as  well  as  purely  mate- 
rial considerations.  This  is  difficult,  since  the 
temptation  is  unconsciously  presented  to  trans- 
fer one's  own  standard  of  comfort  in  his  own 
station,  or  in  his  own  locality,  to  the  locahty 
to  be  studied,  and  measure  the  condition  of  a 
population  by  it  absolutely. 

The  fact  that  necessities  in  one  section  may 
be  absolutely  superfluous  in  another,  is  dis- 
regarded. An  item  which  forms  a  considerable 
part  of  the  budget  in  one  place  may  be  lacking 
entirely  in  another.  Food,  dress,  etc.,  are 
regarded  differently,  owing  to  training,  habits, 
and  former  manner  of  life.  Comparisons  be- 
tween workmen  in  different  localities  are  ren- 

137 


138     FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

dered  valueless  by  this  lack  of  discrimination. 
The  necessity  of  taking  all  these  things  into 
account  is  a  part  of  elementary  economics  in 
its  relation  to  hfe,  but  it  is  constantly  neglected. 

So,  in  studying  the  economic  condition  of  the 
factory  operatives  of  North  Carolina,  we  must 
take  into  consideration,  as  well  as  their  wage, 
the  demands  made  upon  that  wage  by  the 
cHmate,  the  cost  of  subsistence,  and  the  pre- 
vailing ideas  of  comfort  and  luxury  not  only 
in  the  operative  class,  but  among  the  popula- 
tion in  general.  Care  must  also  be  taken  to 
study  the  problem  broadly  and  not  emphasize 
some  comparatively  insignificant  part  of  it,  to 
the  neglect  of  more  important  considerations. 

The  factory  population  was  born  upon  the 
farms,  or  is  only  one  generation  removed. 
The  operatives  have  come  to  the  mill  with 
generations  of  fixed  rural  habits  behind  them, 
and  necessarily  are  greatly  influenced  by  their 
past.  The  problem  of  adjustment  is  more  than 
to  adjust  the  younger  generation. 

Their  standard  of  hfe  was  simple  if  not  low. 


WAGES  AND   COST   OF   LIVING  139 

There  was  food  enough  to  satisfy  hunger; 
there  was  clothing  enough  to  give  warmth; 
there  was  fuel  enough  for  the  great  fireplace, 
though  to  keep  the  houses  thoroughly  warm 
in  every  part,  while  the  wind  whistled  through 
the  chinks  and  crevices,  was  almost  impossible. 
The  snow  sometimes  sifted  through,  but  there 
was  covering  for  the  feather  beds.  Judged 
by  the  standard  of  the  city  dweller,  their  lot 
was  intolerable,  but  they  did  not  know  it. 

Luxuries  bought  with  money  were  few. 
Many  farmers  who  live  in  comparative  comfort 
do  not  handle  $200  in  cash  in  a  year.  The 
chief  money  crops  are  a  few  hundred  pounds 
of  tobacco,  or  a  few  bales  of  cotton.  The 
greater  part  of  the  food  supply  is  raised  upon 
the  farms.  Chickens  and  eggs  or  vegetables 
may  be  exchanged  for  sugar  and  coffee,  but 
there  has  been  no  development  of  the  truck- 
ing industry  in  the  Piedmont  section. 

When  they  come  to  the  mills,  they  live 
generally  in  the  houses  built  by  the  corporation, 
though  some  employers  urge  their  operatives 


140  FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

to  buy  or  build  homes  of  their  own.  These 
tenement  houses  contain  two  to  six  rooms, 
rarely  more,  and  more  than  one  family  sel- 
dom occupies  a  house.  They  are  detached 
frame  structures,  built  upon  brick  pillars. 
The  rooms  are  either  plastered  or  finished  in 
the  natural  pine.  They  are  fitted  with  open 
fireplaces  in  the  larger  rooms,  and  perhaps 
stove  flues  in  the  smaller.  The  lot  is  usually 
about  haK  an  acre,  and  the  frontage  100  feet, 
though  occasionally  not  more  than  75. 

When  the  mill  is  built  in  the  woods,  the  trees 
are  left  for  shade,  but  oftener  some  bare, 
worn-out  hillside  is  the  site  of  the  village. 
Little  grading  is  done,  and  the  supporting 
pillars  on  one  side  may  be  six  feet  higher 
than  on  the  other,  giving  the  house  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  perched  upon  stilts.  One 
magazine  editor  on  a  tour  through  the  mill 
region  was  more  impressed  by  this  than  any 
other  sight.  The  fact  that  the  houses  had  no 
cellars,  seemed  to  him  proof  of  squalor  and 
wretchedness. 


WAGES   AND   COST  OF   LIVING  141 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  few  Southern  houses 
have  cellars.  In  some  sections  it  is  difficult  to 
keep  out  the  water,  the  climate  does  not  make, 
a  cellar  necessary  for  storage,  and  few  houses 
have  furnaces.  The  most  expensive  houses  in 
a  small  Southern  town  will  be  built  entirely 
above  the  ground,  on  brick  or  stone  pillars, 
though  usually  these  are  connected  by  lattice 
work. 

These  mill  houses  have  no  running  water, 
as  few  villages  have  a  water  system.  Water  is 
generally  secured  from  wells,  though  occa- 
sionally from  hydrants.  The  privy  on  the  lot 
may  be  an  unpleasant  feature.  A  mill  village 
is  often  monotonous.  The  general  style  of 
the  houses  and  the  colors  are  similar.  Often 
streets  and  sidewalks  are  neglected,  and  the 
whole  atmosphere  may  be  depressing. 

These  houses  are  usually  rented  at  a  flat  rate 
per  room,  regardless  of  desirabihty  of  location. 
A  four-room  house  will  cost  50  cents  to  $1 
per  room  per  month,  i.e.  $2  to  $4.  The  rate 
is  seldom  higher,  and  at  some  mills  no  rent  at 


142      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

all  is  charged.  Houses  are  allotted  in  order 
of  application,  subject  to  an  understood  rule 
that  a  house  must  furnish  one  operative  for 
each  room,  or  at  least  two  operatives  for  three 
rooms.  When  the  demand  is  pressing  a  small 
family,  or  one  from  which  few  members  work  in 
the  mill,  may  be  unable  to  secure  a  large  house. 

So  far  as  convenience  and  comfort  are  con- 
cerned, these  houses,  when  new  at  least,  are 
superior  to  those  in  which  the  operatives  lived 
in  the  country.  Of  the  houses  themselves, 
there  is  httle  complaint.  Often  the  location, 
the  comparative  crowding,  the  lack  of  shade, 
are  causes  of  regret  to  the  tenants. 

The  houses  are  often  somewhat  bare  of  fur- 
niture. The  newcomers  bring  little  to  the 
mills,  and  that  of  the  rudest  description,  but 
additions  are  soon  made.  The  more  pros- 
perous have  a  parlor,  with  a  center  table  on 
which  lies  a  large  family  Bible  and  a  few  ex- 
pensive books  bought  from  agents.  Bright 
lithographs,  or  a  perforated  cardboard  motto, 
"God  Bless  Our  Home,"  are  upon  the  walls. 


WAGES   AND   COST   OF   LIVING  143 

Perhaps  the  "company  bed,"  with  its  huge 
embroidered  pillow  shams,  stands  in  one  corner. 
The  operatives  dress  well,  or  at  least  have 
good  clothes  for  Sundays  and  holidays.  In 
the  mills  these  are  not  worn,  any  more  than 
a  machinist  would  wear  his  best  in  the  grime 
and  oil  of  the  shop.  During  at  least  half  the 
year  the  children  are  barefoot,  as  they  were  in 
the  country.  The  clothing  of  a  boy  in  summer 
is  limited  to  the  same  two  necessary  garments 
worn  by  his  country  cousin.  The  men  go  to 
their  work  in  garments  white  with  lint,  and 
work  in  their  shirt  sleeves.  The  girls  have 
working  clothes  which  catch  as  little  of  this 
lint  as  possible,  but  all  have  better  clothes 
than  they  wear  daily.  In  fact,  there  is  a 
decided  tendency  to  extravagance  in  dress, 
particularly  among  the  girls.  They  are  stu- 
dents of  style  and  follow  the  fashions  observed 
on  the  streets,  generally  emphasizing  colors 
and  modes.  Many  overdress,  and  wear  too 
many  and  too  harshly  contrasting  colors,  and 
too  many  ornaments. 


144  FEOM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Though  not  always  well  chosen,  the  food  of 
the  operatives  is  abundant.  In  the  sparsely 
settled  country  districts,  butcher's  meat  was 
uncommon.  Beef  was  had  only  at  infrequent 
intervals  when  a  farmer  killed  an  animal  and 
supplied  his  neighbors.  Mutton  also  was  rarely 
seen,  since  the  number  of  worthless  curs  owned 
both  by  negroes  and  whites  makes  the  raising 
of  sheep  hazardous.  There  are  few  fish  in 
the  streams  in  the  middle  section,  and  salt 
mackerel  was  almost  the  only  kind  known  to 
the  farmer's  table. 

Pork  was  the  chief  dependence,  fresh  at 
*'hog-kilHng  time,"  which  comes  after  the 
weather  has  grown  cold  enough  to  insure  pres- 
ervation and  salted  for  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  Occasionally  rabbits,  squirrels,  and  quail 
were  upon  the  table,  but  the  staple  meats  were 
pork  and  chicken. 

The  list  of  vegetables  is  not  long:  cabbage, 
corn  in  season,  beans,  potatoes,  both  white  and 
sweet,  tomatoes,  cucumbers,  and  onions,  with 
fruit  and  berries  for  pies  make  up  the  Ust. 


WAGES   AND   COST   OF   LIVING  145 

For  winter  use  cabbage  was  banked  or  made 
into  kraut,  berries  and  fruits  were  dried,  and  the 
other  vegetables  were  kept  so  long  as  possible. 
As  some  of  these  do  not  keep  well,  sometimes 
for  months  in  the  late  winter  and  early  spring, 
the  usual  food  was  salt  pork  three  times  a  day, 
varied  occasionally  by  eggs  or  chicken,  with 
few  or  no  vegetables. 

After  the  move  to  town,  there  is  httle  change 
in  the  menu  for  a  time,  but  gradually  additions 
are  made;  The  flour  in  the  country  was  often 
ground  at  a  buhr  mill  and  was  not  perfectly 
white.  The  family  begins  to  use  fine  roller 
flour,  though  it  may  be  tinged  yellow  with  soda. 
Fresh  fish  are  bought.  Canned  fruits  and 
vegetables  form  an  agreeable  addition,  and  are 
used  extensively.  Pickles  and  preserves  are 
bought  in  large  quantities.  The  operatives  are 
large  consumers  of  fruit  and  vegetables  out  of 
season,  though  they  may  put  the  strawberries 
into  a  pie. 

With  the  staples  there  is  less  change.  The 
cooking  was  generally  bad  in  the  country  and 


146   FKOM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

it  remains  bad  in  town.  The  mother  had  the 
help  of  her  daughters  there,  while  in  town  she 
may  be  so  hurried  that  she  has  not  time  to 
prepare  the  food  properly.  The  frying  pan 
is  almost  universal.  Ham,  bacon,  sausage, 
chicken,  eggs,  come  to  the  table  swimming 
in  grease.  The  best  steaks  are  bought,  but 
they  are  cut  thin  and  fried  to  a  crisp.  Soup 
is  rarely,  almost  never,  seen.  The  vegetables 
are  often  boiled  with  the  bacon  and  are  greasy. 
The  pie  crust  may  be  soggy,  and  the  huge,  yel- 
low soda  biscuits  as  well.  Molasses  in  large 
quantities  is  consumed  both  in  the  country  and 
in  the  town. 

Conditions  in  the  second  generation  improve 
little.  The  more  expensive  foods  have  become 
a  part  of  the  standard  of  life,  but  the  cooking 
may  not  be  better.  The  girl  who  has  worked 
in  the  mill  from  childhood  until  her  marriage 
can  know  httle  of  housekeeping,  and  very  often 
is  unable  to  gain  knowledge  from  experiment. 
Her  utensils  are  better,  however,  and  some 
learn. 


WAGES  AND   COST   OF   LIVING  147 

In  the  country  the  open-air  hfe  aided  the 
stomach  to  perform  its  difficult  task.  When 
the  same  food  is  eaten  by  those  who  have  spent 
the  whole  day  indoors,  the  stomach  revolts.  The 
faces  and  carriage  of  many  give  evidence  of 
malnutrition.  The  craving  for  pickles  and 
sweets  is  gratified  excessively  with  disastrous 
results.  Of  course,  this  description  is  not 
universally  applicable.  In  many  cases  the 
food  is  well  chosen  and  well  prepared,  but 
oftener  conditions  are  as  stated  above. 

The  factory  population  is  obviously  not 
stinted,  so  far  as  the  kind  and  quantity  of  food 
is  concerned.  Other  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
clerks,  mechanics,  and  artisans,  spend  hardly 
so  much  per  capita,  though  the  results  gained 
may  be  greater. 

How  can  the  operatives  spend  so  much  upon 
food?  First,  because  the  item  of  rent  is 
almost  ehminated,  forming,  as  it  does,  only  a 
tenth  or  a  fifteenth  of  the  total  income ;  second, 
the  amount  spent  for  dramatic  and  musical 
performances,    books,    magazines,    and    other 


148      FROM   COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

cultural  expenses  is  small;  third,  because 
little  is  saved.  Though  the  family  may  have 
come  with  the  expectation  of  accumulating 
enough  to  pay  off  a  mortgage  or  to  buy  a 
farm,  in  rare  instances  is  any  considerable 
portion  of  the  income  laid  by. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  table  of  aver- 
age wages  paid  for  the  different  operations.* 
The  family  wages  depend  upon  the  number, 
age,  and  efficiency  of  the  workers.  A  few  small 
unskilled  famihes  make  less  than  $10  a  week, 
while  fewer  make  so  much  as  $30.  The  fam- 
ilies accustomed  to  the  irregularity  of  farm 
work,  when  they  first  come  to  the  mill  do  not 
work  so  regularly  as  those  whose  rural  life 
has  become  a  memory.  The  average  family 
wage  is  between  $10  and  $15,  since  the  famihes 
b}'-  a  natural  process  of  selection  are  large. 
There  is,  of  course,  no  car  fare  to  pay. 

In  a  typical,  prosperous  mill  family  the 
weekly  wages  hst  was  as  follows:  father,  $4.50; 
daughter,  twenty-one  years,  $4.50;   son,  nine- 

*  Appendix  A. 


WAGES  AND   COST   OF  LIVING  149 

teen,  $5.40;  daughter,  sixteen,  $3.60;  son, 
fourteen,  $3;  total  $21,  from  which  $1.50 
weekly  only  was  paid  for  rent.  Three  years 
before  the  amounts  received  were,  respectively, 
$4.50,  $3.60,  $4.50,  $2.40,  $2.40,  a  total  of 
$17.40. 

Another  family  consisted  of  a  widow  and  four 
children.  The  oldest,  a  girl  of  twenty,  earned 
about  $6.50  a  week,  while  a  sister  of  eighteen 
and  a  brother  of  seventeen  earned  about  $4.25 
each.  The  youngest  daughter,  a  child  of  four- 
teen, had  not  worked  regularly  in  the  mill,  but 
had  occasionally  assisted  her  sisters,  coming  and 
going  when  she  pleased.  Here,  of  total  weekly 
wages  of  $15,  $1.25  went  for  rent. 

These  are,  of  course,  the  more  prosperous 
families.  One  widow  whose  two  children  to- 
gether earned  less  than  $5  a  week  managed 
to  exist  by  taking  two  boarders  who  paid 
perhaps  $3  a  week  additional.  Obviously  the 
margin  was  very  narrow,  and  sickness  would 
reduce  the  family  to  want. 

In  spinning  and  weaving,  a  general  average 


150   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

of  wages  can  be  secured  with  difficulty,  since 
the  pay  depends  upon  the  number  of  machines 
operated,  or  upon  the  quantity  of  goods  pro- 
duced. Where  there  are  such  wide  differences 
of  skill,  the  variations  in  pay  are  hkewise  great. 
The  late  Professor  Mayo-Smith  clearly  showed 
that  any  table  of  average  wages  is  practically 
meaningless  where  much  variation  exists. 

In  spinning,  for  example,  the  pay  depends 
upon  the  number  of  ''sides"  tended.  A  learner 
may  have  for  a  few  weeks  only  one  or  two 
sides.  (The  stories  of  children  working  for  10 
to  20  cents  a  day  have  this  much  founda- 
tion.) A  few  months  later  the  same  girl  will 
be  tending  four  sides,  with  a  corresponding  in- 
crease in  wages,  and  good  spinners  tend  more. 

Weaving  is  paid  by  the  ''  cut,"  the  length  of 
which  varies  with  the  goods,  the  market  for 
which  it  is  designed,  etc.  An  unskilled  weaver 
with  few  looms  may  make  no  more  than  $2.50 
a  week,  while  an  expert  may  receive  $9, 
which  is  close  to  the  maximum. 

Comparison  with  the  average  wages  paid  in 


WAGES  AND   COST  OF   LIVING  151 

New  England  is  difficult,  since  the  work  is  often 
not  comparable.  The  expert  male  mule  spinner 
upon  fine  yams  cannot  justly  be  compared  with 
the  raw  girl  producing  coarse  numbers  upon 
ring  frames.  The  skilled  weaver  upon  "fancy" 
cloth  belongs  to  a  different  division  from  the 
producer  of  coarse  gray  sheeting.  As  yet  the 
larger  number  of  the  mills  in  North  Carolina 
is  occupied  with  coarse  goods  on  which  great 
skill  is  not  required,  while  the  wages  of  the 
highly  skilled  operatives  of  New  England  raise 
the  average  there.  The  individual  earnings  in 
New  England  are  undoubtedly  larger  than  in 
North  Carolina.  The  Census  reports  gave  the 
median  wage  instead  of  the  average,  i.e.  the 
wage  standing  midway  between  the  highest 
and  the  lowest.  Beamers  and  slasher  tenders 
received  in  New  England  $10.50  weekly  com- 
pared with  $6  in  the  South  as  a  whole; 
card  hands  $7  compared  with  $4.50;  male 
weavers  $7.50  compared  with  $4.50;  female 
spinners  $6  compared  with  $3.  The  great 
difference  for  the  last  operation  is  partially 


152      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

due  to  the  excessive  number  of  young  and 
untrained  girls  in  the  Southern  mills/ 

For  example,  spinners  in  Fall  River  were 
found  tending  10  sides  of  112  spindles  each, 
while  the  average  was  8.  In  New  Bedford 
some  operatives  had  1200  spindles.^  In  few 
mills  was  the  average  number  of  sides  to  the 
spinner  less  than  6.  In  North  Carolina  the 
frames  are  somewhat  shorter,  few  girls  man- 
age 800  spindles,  and  the  average  is  closer 
to  400.  Undoubtedly,  however,  the  rate  paid 
was  less  in  North  Carolina,  though  not  so  much 
less  as  the  wages  received  would  seem  to  show. 

A  more  important  question  for  the  manufac- 
turer is  that  of  comparative  wages  per  unit  of 
efficiency.  That  is,  does  the  operative  in  North 
Carohna  receive  a  smaller  share  of  the  total 
productivity  imputable  to  labor?  To  settle 
the  question,  a  careful  study  must  be   made 


*  Census  Bulletin  215.  Wages  in  North  Carolina  have 
risen  decidedly  since  1900,  however,  and  in  many  places  the 
rate  for  spinning  particularly  is  as  high  as  in  New  England. 

^  Young,  op.  dt. 


WAGES  AND  COST   OF   LIVING  153 

of  the  comparative  skill  of  workers,  the  amount 
of  material  wasted,  and  the  state  of  the  machin- 
ery both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the 
period.  An  operative  who  gets  from  a  machine 
a  large  percentage  of  its  theoretically  possible 
productivity  may  be  cheaper  at  a  high  wage 
than  one  who  gets  much  less  per  machine  for 
similar  work.  The  only  trustworthy  answer 
could  be  gained  by  comparison  of  results  of 
mills  under  the  same  general  management, 
but  situated  in  different  sections. 

That  careful  English  observer,  Mr.  T.  M. 
Young,  already  mentioned,  has  the  following 
to  say  of  Southern  wages :  ^  — 

"  Wages  are  unquestionably  very  much  lower  and 
the  truck  system^  is  almost  universal,  but  whether 
the  cost  per  unit  of  efficiency  is  greater  in  the  South 
than  in  the  North  is  hard  to  say.  But  for  the  auto- 
matic loom,  the  North  would,  I  think,  have  the 
advantage.  Perhaps  the  truth  is  that  in  some  parts 
of  the  South  where  the  industry  has  been  longest 

'  Young,  "The  American  Cotton  Industry"  (1903). 
2  This  is  not  true  in  North  Carolina.     Wages  are  paid 
in  cash  almost  invariably. 


154   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

established,  and  a  generation  has  been  trained  to  the 
work,  Southern  labor  is  actually  as  well  as  nominally 
cheaper  than  Northern  ;  whilst  in  other  districts, 
where  many  mills  have  sprung  up  all  at  once  amongst 
a  sparse  rural  population,  wholly  untrained,  the 
Southern  labor  at  present  procurable  is  really  dearer 
than  the  Northern.  In  any  case  I  do  not  think  that 
really  cheaper  labor  can  be  counted  on  as  a  perma- 
nent advantage  for  the  Southern  cotton  mills." 

In  support  of  this  judgment  he  cites  weavers 
working  side  by  side  in  a  North  Carolina  mill, 
some  of  whom  were  producing  barely  three 
fourths  as  much  to  the  machine  as  others.  As 
that  machine  was  expensive,  the  inferior  labor 
was  higher  priced,  though  receiving  the  same 
per  unit  of  product;  and  the  fact  of  the  em- 
ployment of  inferior  labor  was  obviously  due 
to  the  scarcity  of  more  efficient  workers.  He 
found,  also,  that  both  spindles  and  looms  in  the 
Southern  mills  ran  more  slowly  than  in  the 
Northern. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  labor  is  per- 
manently inferior,  but  the  demand  has  been 
so  great  that  an  excessive  number  of  totally 


WAGES  AND   COST   OF  LIVING  155 

unskilled  workers  has  been  brought  into  the 
industry,  and  a  long  period  is  necessary  to 
develop  a  class.  Already  individuals  equal  to 
any  work  may  be  found,  and  in  some  localities 
a  considerable  number.  The  longer  hours,  too, 
allow  somewhat  larger  production.  Mr.  Young 
found  that  a  mill  in  Massachusetts  produced 
in  a  week  of  58  hours  1.35  pounds  of  yarn  to 
the  spindle,  while  a  branch  mill  in  the  South 
produced  in  a  week  of  67 J  hours  1.42  pounds 
of  the  same  yarn. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  laborer,  the  im- 
portant consideration  is  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  wage,  rather  than  its  nominal  size.  A 
low  wage  in  money  may  in  reality  be  high  on 
account  of  the  smaller  demands  upon  that 
wage. 

The  tables  given  in  the  Appendix  *  cannot 
of  course  show  absolutely  the  relative  well-being 
procured  by  the  expenditure  of  a  given  sum,  but 
they  have  some  force.  The  prices  given  for 
Massachusetts  are  from  the  Report  of  the  Massa- 

*  Appendix  B. 


156   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

chusetts  Bureau  of  Labor,  and  are  for  1897  and 
1902,  the  latest  procurable.  The  figures  for 
North  Carolina  were  obtained  by  averaging 
figures  obtained  from  different  mill  towns. 

The  third  table  ^  represents  the  prevailing 
prices  in  two  similar  towns  with  practically 
the  same  industries,  one  in  Piedmont  Carolina, 
the  other  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  The  date 
is  April,  1904. 

From  the  tables  it  is  evident  that  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  the  dollar  differs  decidedly. 
Flour  costs  nearly  the  same,  but  the  larger 
consumption  of  the  cheaper  corn  meal  (which 
is  extensively  used  from  choice  by  all  classes 
in  the  South)  makes  the  cost  of  bread  less  in 
North  Carolina.  Groceries  generally  show  a 
sHght  advantage  in  favor  of  New  England. 
The  lower  price  of  coffee  in  North  Carolina 
means,  of  course,  the  use  of  a  lower  grade. 

In  meats  there  is  a  decided  advantage  in 
favor  of  North  Carolina.  In  some  cases  the 
prices  are  little  more  than  half.    The  general 

^  Appendix  C. 


WAGES   AND   COST   OP   LIVING  157 

quality  is  lower,  to  be  sure,  since  it  is  nearly 
all  from  animals  slaughtered  in  the  neighbor- 
hood ;  but  it  is  the  best  in  the  market,  the  same 
the  employer  eats.  The  consumption  of  pork 
is  greater  from  habit,  and  it  is  cheaper,  pound 
for  pound,  than  beef.  The  same  remarks  apply 
to  butter  as  to  meat.  The  quality  is  not  uni- 
form, but  the  operatives  eat  the  best  the  market 
affords.  Eggs  are  cheaper  in  North  Carolina, 
though  slowly  rising  in  price.  For  years,  ex- 
cept around  the  hohdays,  ten  cents  a  dozen 
was  a  standard  price.  During  the  summer 
vegetables  are  ridiculously  cheap.  There  is 
usually  land  enough  around  the  tenement  for 
a  garden  upon  which  a  family  may  raise  a  part 
of  the  supply,  but  oftener  it  is  purchased  from 
the  store  or  from  the  farmers'  wagons. 

Fuel  is  much  cheaper  nominally  and  actually. 
Both  wood  and  coal  cost  less,  and  less  is  re- 
quired during  the  cold  season.  As  all  the  cook- 
ing is  done  by  wood,  fire  is  kept  in  the  stove 
only  while  meals  are  being  prepared,  and  a 
decided  saving  is  effected. 


158   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Dry  goods  for  equal  qualities  show  a  slight 
advantage  in  favor  of  New  England.  The  wide 
variation  of  quality  in  woolen  goods  prevents 
exact  comparison.  Less  clothing  is  required 
for  comfort,  however,  in  the  South,  and  the  ex- 
tensive substitution  of  cotton  allowed  by  the 
climate  makes  considerable  saving,  though  the 
North  Carolina  operatives  may  be  clothed 
decently  and  suitably. 

In  the  matter  of  rent,  the  North  Carolina 
operative  has  a  great  advantage  compared  with 
Massachusetts  particularly.  In  some  parts  of 
New  Hampshire  and  in  the  Connecticut  town 
already  mentioned  the  difference  is  not  so 
marked.  In  the  latter  town,  however,  the 
dwelling  place  is  not  a  separate  house,  but 
only  one  half  to  one  sixth  of  a  tenement,  and 
the  surroundings  are  neither  so  healthful  nor 
so  pleasant  as  in  the  North  Carolina  town  com- 
pared. It  may,  perhaps,  be  objected  that  a 
comparison  of  city  prices  in  Massachusetts 
with  those  in  semi-rural  communities  in  North 
Carolina  is  not  fair.    Wages  are   compared. 


WAGES   AND   COST  OF   LIVING  159 

however,  and  the  North  CaroHna  mills  are 
nearly  all  in  small  towns.  If  Uving  is  cheaper, 
it  is  to  the  advantage  of  the  operative,  and 
does  not  prevent  a  fair  comparison  of  general 
conditions. 

A  comparison  of  wages  paid  in  other  occu- 
pations in  North  Carolina  is  not  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  factory  worker.  An  average 
of  the  highest  monthly  wages  paid  to  women  in 
agriculture  is  $11.54,  while  that  average  in  the 
mills  is  $27.04.  The  average  wages  paid  to 
children  in  the  mills  was  $10.66,  while  on  the 
farms  it  was  only  $5.50.  The  average  wages 
paid  to  able-bodied  laborers  on  the  railroads 
was  85  cents  a  day.^ 

A  proof  that  wages  do  not  bear  hard  upon 
the  minimum  of  subsistence  is  the  fact  that 
the  operatives  have  been  induced  to  leave  the 
farms,  and  that  there  is  land  to  which  they  may 
return,  and  secure  a  subsistence  no  matter  how 
unskillfully  the  labor  is  applied.  These  people 
are  not  city  dwellers,  to  whom  the    country 

'  Report,  Bureau  of  Labor  and  Printing,  1904. 


160      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

is  unknown.  They  have  come  from  the  farms 
and  have  not  lost  their  connection  with  the 
rural  community. 

In  the  spring  of  1904,  when  cotton  was  ab- 
normally high,  the  possibiUty  of  closing  was  an- 
nounced to  the  operatives  in  Concord.  Though 
the  mills  were  not  closed,  the  census  taken  for 
school  purposes  in  September  showed  the  loss 
of  nearly  1000  persons,  10  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  A  large  majority  of  them  had 
gone  back  to  the  farms  to  raise  a  crop  of  cotton. 
The  low  price  of  cotton  drove  them  from  the 
farms;  the  high  price  lured  them  back,  but 
not  to  stay.  Nearly  all  of  them  returned  to 
the  mills,  after  selling  their  crops  at  a  much 
lower  price  than  they  had  hoped  to  receive. 

But  the  importance  of  this  point  must  be 
emphasized.  The  rate  of  wages  must  be  in- 
fluenced by  the  presence  of  the  land.  The  de- 
mands of  industry  are  encroaching  perceptibly 
upon  the  supply  of  farm  labor  available  either 
for  wages  or  for  a  share  of  the  crops.  The  high 
price  of  agricultural  products  in  1904-1905  com- 


WAGES  AND   COST   OF   LIVING  161 

pelled  a  decided  advance  of  wages  in  the  cotton 
mills. 

One  manufacturer  reports  that  the  amount 
of  his  weekly  pay  roll  has  increased  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  since  the  beginning  of  1905.* 
While  the  increase  in  the  rate  of  wages  has 
perhaps  not  been  so  great  in  the  state  as  a 
whole,  the  growing  scarcity  of  labor  is  leading 
many  employers  to  consider  means  of  attract- 
ing foreign  immigration. 

^  Letter,  April,  1906. 


CHAPTER  IX 

SOCIAL    LIFE    AND    AGENCIES    FOR    SOCIAL 
BETTERMENT 

Life  on  the  farms  is  lonely.  Sometimes  for 
days  no  outsider  is  seen,  except  the  casual 
traveler  along  the  roads,  who  halts  to  talk  a 
few  moments.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
farmer  is  always  willing  to  stop  and  sit  upon  the 
fence  to  learn  the  news,  or  to  make  an  excuse 
to  go  to  the  country  store.  Notices  of  pohtical 
meetings,  an  unexpected  church  service,  a 
debate  at  the  schoolhouse,  and  the  Uke  are 
spread  by  word  of  mouth.  Each  hstener  then 
continues  to  ''put  out  the  word"  until  the 
whole  neighborhood  is  notified. 

But  such  occasions  are  comparatively  infre- 
quent. The  family  is  thrown  almost  entirely 
upon  its  own  scanty  resources.  Books  are 
few,  and  many  families  receive  no  newspaper. 

162 


SOCIAL  LIFE  163 

Perhaps  the  children  turn  over  and  over  again 
their  school  books  until  they  know  them  al- 
most word  for  word.  Many  of  these  children, 
in  spite  of  the  short  school  term  and,  fre- 
quently, of  inefficient  teachers,  at  sixteen  are 
as  capable  as  the  city  children  who  have  at- 
tended for  terms  twice  as  long. 

In  the  country  the  influence  of  the  church 
is  strong.  There  is  now  more  Puritanism  in 
the  South  than  remains  in  New  England.  The 
Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian  held  a  stern  doctrine, 
and  Drumtochties  are  still  to  be  found. 
Though  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  have 
added  an  emotionalism  foreign  to  the  old 
Presbyterian  temperament,  their  rules  of  con- 
duct are  no  less  strict.  The  instance  of  a  good 
woman  who  gave  to  her  neighbor's  children  the 
nuts  from  a  tree  in  her  yard,  provided  they 
would  promise  not  to  crack  them  on  Sunday, 
is  not  an  isolated  survival.  There  are  thou- 
sands like  her.  Practically  every  resident  of 
a  rural  community  is  connected  with  some 
religious  denomination. 


164   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Naturally  the  loneliness,  and  the  strictness  of 
the  imposed  code,  make  a  serious  population. 
There  is  little  spontaneity  or  hilarity  in  the 
ordinary  rural  gathering.  Men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren are  usually  sedate  and  quiet,  almost  grave. 
There  are  instances  of  reaction,  of  course,  in- 
dividuals who  break  away,  whose  spirits  cannot 
be  confined  nor  restrained.  When  they  have 
offended  against  one  social  or  ethical  conven- 
tion, they  may  be  ready  to  offend  in  all.  But 
viewing  them  in  the  large,  these  small  farmers 
exhibit  little  of  the  ^^joy  of  Ufe." 

They  come  to  the  mill,  and  begin  a  new  Hfe. 
In  the  monotonous  little  mill  village,  they  find 
excitement,  and  their  starved  social  natures 
are  gratified.  The  mothers  talk  from  the 
windows  or  the  piazzas  with  the  neighbors  as 
all  go  about  their  household  tasks.  Those  in 
the  mill  are  associated  with  their  fellows,  even 
though  the  noise  and  the  nature  of  the  work 
forbid  much  conversation.  The  children  not 
in  the  mill  have  playmates. 

Though  the  dwellers  in  the  factory  village 


SOCIAL   LIFE  165 

meet  thus  incidentally  or  at  the  church  services, 
there  is  Httle  formal  social  intercourse.  The 
young  men  and  the  young  women  are  together 
on  Saturday  afternoons  and  upon  Sunday.  Some 
take  walks,  and  all  the  horses  in  the  Hvery 
stables  are  engaged  for  drives  on  Sunday  after- 
noons. Parties  are  rare.  After  the  long  day's 
work,  bedtime  must  come  early.  The  elders 
frown  upon  both  dancing  and  cards.  In  fact, 
much  of  the  old  Puritanism  which  holds  that 
any  amusement  whatever  is  wrong,  or  at  least 
of  doubtful  propriety,  still  survives.  This  at- 
titude may  persist,  though  the  church  services 
are  no  longer  so  scrupulously  attended. 

This  is  particularly  true  in  the  rural  mills, 
where  the  whole  village  is  dependent  upon  the 
enterprise.  Many  managers  are  strict  moralists 
of  an  old-fashioned  type,  who  hold  themselves 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  their  operatives 
and  attempt  to  control  it  in  some  particulars. 
Only  those  families  who  are  willing  to  observe 
the  regulations  are  kept,  and  the  village  often 
takes  a  somewhat  austere  tone. 


166   PROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

It  is  easy  to  take  cognizance  of  the  conduct 
of  the  operatives  outside  the  mill.  In  the 
factory  village  there  can  be  little  separation  of 
private  and  industrial  Ufe.  The  houses  are 
close  together.  Every  one  knows  every  one 
else,  and  can  estimate  the  family  income  to  a 
dollar  a  week.  Every  action  almost  is  known, 
and  fancied  or  real  immorality  cannot  be  long 
concealed. 

The  moral  atmosphere  of  the  mill  settle- 
ments varies.  At  some  old  mills  which  have 
gotten  a  bad  name  through  the  carelessness  or 
indifference  of  the  manager  or  superintendent, 
and  to  which  self-respecting  operatives  refuse 
to  go,  conditions  are  undoubtedly  bad.  The 
best  operatives  will  not  go  where  the  tene- 
ments are  bad,  and  sometimes  short-sighted 
economic  policy  leads  the  managers  to  take 
the  operatives  that  will  come,  instead  of  im- 
proving conditions.  The  less  scrupulous  opera- 
tives naturally  tend  to  gather  at  the  mills  in 
the  larger  towns,  where  less  supervision  can  be 
exercised. 


SOCIAL  LIFE  167 

At  a  great  majority  of  the  mills  the  atmos- 
phere is  clean.  The  testimony  of  unprejudiced 
Northern  observers  is  quoted  elsewhere,  as 
have  been  examples  of  the  scrupulousness  of 
the  operatives  in  money  matters.  As  a  result 
of  whisky  iUicitly  procured,  sexual  jealousy, 
or  a  hasty  word,  personal  encounters  sometimes 
occur,  but  they  are  seldom  serious.  The  opera- 
tives marry  young,  and  sexual  immorahty  is 
not  common. 

The  sweeping  indictment  against  the  chastity 
of  the  mill  girls  made  in  a  recent  novel,  purport- 
ing to  describe  life  in  the  Southern  mills,  is 
cruelly  unjust.^  There  are  many  individual 
cases  of  unchastity,  of  course.  No  claim  of 
universal  purity  is  made  for  them.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  work,  the  crowding,  the  neces- 
sarily close  association  with  the  men  would 
supposedly  have  a  tendency  to  diminish  maid- 
enly reserve.  There  is  vulgar  conversation 
sometimes,  and  perhaps  occasional  profanity; 

»  Van  Vorst,  "  Amanda  of  the  Mill "  ( 1 905) .  As  a  picture 
of  conditions,  the  book  is  untrue,  and  shows  either  ignorance, 
or  perversion  of  facts  for  literary  effect. 


168      FROM   COTTON  FI^LD   TO   COTTON   MILL 

but  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  factory 
girls  in  the  North  Carolina  mills  are  virtuous, 
and  follow  the  right  so  far  as  they  know  it. 

In  many  mills  the  girls  themselves  make  up 
an  unofficial  committee  for  the  protection  of 
social  purity,  and  allow  no  offender  to  stay. 
In  one  mill  where  any  deviation  was  punished 
by  the  discharge  from  the  mill  of  the  whole 
family  and  eviction  from  the  tenement,  the 
necessity  for  the  infliction  of  the  penalty  did 
not  arise  for  more  than  five  years.  Yet  the 
population  had  changed  considerably  during 
that  period,  for  the  operatives  can  and  will 
move  upon  an  hour's  notice. 

This  readiness  to  move  is  a  symptom  of 
social  unrest  arising  from  lack  of  adjustment 
to  environment.  The  family,  when  it  comes  to 
the  mill,  may  regret  the  loss  of  some  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  country  it  has  left,  and  moves 
to  another  village  in  search  of  more  satisfactory 
surroundings.  Faihng,  the  fault  is  attributed 
to  the  particular  mill  instead  of  the  life  itself, 
and  other  removals  are  made  until  the  desire 


SOCIAL  LIFE  169 

for  constant  change  becomes  chronic.  The 
most  trivial  happening  serves  as  an  excuse. 
One  man  who  moved  his  family  sixteen  times 
within  five  years  gave  as  his  reason  for  one  of 
these  transfers  the  fact  that  the  wages  of  one 
of  his  children  had  been  reduced  ten  cents  a 
day.  Such  a  record  is  fortunately  unusual. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  mill  manager  made  special 
gifts  a  few  years  ago  to  a  number  of  operatives 
who  had  worked  in  his  mill  more  than  twenty- 
five  years.  Yet  the  mill  families  often  change. 
In  a  row  of  seven  houses  in  one  town  only  two 
had  been  occupied  by  the  same  tenants  for 
more  than  a  year,  and  some  of  the  others  had 
been  occupied  by  three  or  four  families  in  turn 
during  that  period.  These  tenements  were  in 
a  large  town,  however,  and  were  unsatisfactory 
from  several  standpoints. 

Naturally  such  migratory  families  add  little 
or  nothing  to  the  strength  of  a  community, 
and  are  almost  certainly  a  source  of  weakness. 
They  send  down  no  roots  into  the  soil,  form  no 
real  connections  with  their  fellows  about  them. 


170   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

The  children  lose  whatever  opportunities  of 
education  they  might  have  had,  and  the  church 
connections  of  the  family  are  weakened  or  loosed 
altogether.  Such  a  family  does  not  make 
up  a  part  of  the  pubhc  opinion,  nor  does  it 
feel  its  full  restraining  force.  The  result  is 
often  a  weakening  and  lowering  of  ethical 
standards.  Such  frequent  removals  bring  loss 
of  household  comforts,  which  are  destroyed  or 
thrown  away.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
family  earnings  is  spent  in  transportation. 
Though  the  mill  to  which  they  go  often  advances 
the  cost  of  removal,  naturally  the  whole  or  a 
part  of  the  cost  is  deducted  from  the  future 
wages. 

No  matter  how  dissatisfied  such  a  family 
may  be  with  its  surroundings,  and  no  matter 
how  vain  seems  the  search  for  a  satisfactory 
location,  it  seldom,  almost  never,  returns  to 
the  farm.  The  reason  is  perhaps  complex. 
The  greater  apparent  earnings,  even  though  the 
family  wages  may  be  spent  before  they  are 
paid,  make  possible  the  enjoyment  of  certain 


SOCIAL   LIFE  171 

comforts  and  luxuries  unknown  upon  the  farm ; 
to  return  would  seem  a  confession  of  failure, 
and  they  are  still  sensitive  to  the  opinion  of 
the  neighborhood  they  left.  Greater  than  all 
else  is  the  morbid  craving  for  excitement  and 
change  —  a  feeling  analogous  to  that  which 
keeps  certain  sections  of  the  city  overcrowded. 

The  formal  agencies  for  social  betterment  at 
the  North  Carohna  mills  are  the  church  and  the 
school.  Both  are  subsidized  by  the  corpora- 
tion. In  nearly  every  mill  community  outside 
of  those  incorporated  towns  which  maintain 
an  efficient  school  system,  the  mill  erects  a 
school  building.  A  school  is  maintained  en- 
tirely at  the  expense  of  the  corporation,  or 
the  short  term  of  the  public  school  is  extended 
to  six  or  even  ten  months  by  an  appropriation 
from  the  mill  treasury.  Sometimes  in  towns 
which  have  a  satisfactory  school  system  the 
mill  builds  schoolhouses  near  the  mills  for  the 
convenience  of  the  operatives,  and  the  town 
maintains  the  schools. 

The  lack  of  the  reahzation  of  the  dynamic 


172   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

condition  of  the  industry  sometimes  causes 
unjustified  criticism.  For  example,  Mr.  Young 
notes  the  fact  that  there  was  neither  church  nor 
school  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  large  new  mill 
just  beginning  operations  in  a  rural  section  of 
North  Carolina.  Two  years  later  the  cor- 
poration had  built  a  school  to  accommodate 
four  hundred  children  at  a  cost  of  more 
than  $6000,  and  had  aided  in  the  building 
of  four  churches.  A  school  was  maintained 
here  eight  months  in  the  year,  half  of  that  time 
entirely  at  the  expense  of  the  mill,  which  also 
contributed  to  the  salaries  of  the  ministers.  A 
hall  for  lectures  and  for  services  of  denomina- 
tions without  a  church  building  was  also  con- 
structed. 

This  is  not  at  all  an  isolated  case.  Other 
mills  have  done  quite  as  much.  There  is 
scarcely  a  mill  settlement  in  the  state  which 
does  not  enjoy  much  greater  educational  op- 
portunities than  the  country  districts,  if  only 
the  children  could  be  forced  to  attend.  Some 
managers  parade  this  support  of  schools  and 


SOCIAL   LIFE  173 

churches  as  philanthropy;  others  say  it  is  a 
plain  matter  of  business;  that  the  mill  which 
offers  the  greatest  advantages  will  get  more 
desirable  operatives. 

The  work  done  by  these  schools  varies.  In 
some  the  children  are  well  taught  and  well 
trained.  Where  the  schools  are  a  part  of 
the  city  system,  the  superintendent  may  give 
an  undue  proportion  of  his  time  to  them  on 
account  of  the  difficulties  presented.  As  the 
great  majority  are  outside  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  town,  there  is  too  often  a  lack  of  wise  direc- 
tion. Sometimes  the  teachers  are  needy  rela- 
tives or  friends  of  the  mill  officers  and  lack 
sympathy  with  the  conditions.  Occasionally 
they  are  of  a  stern,  old-fashioned  type,  who 
might  give  valuable  discipline  if  the  children 
would  attend.  Usually  they  succeed  only  in 
driving  the  children  away,  as  parents  can  hardly 
keep  them  in  attendance  against  their  will. 

The  mill  child  seldom  finds  school  such  a 
welcome  relief  from  monotony  as  does  his 
country  cousin.    The  instruction  seems  to  him 


174   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

not  vital,  to  touch  his  Hfe  at  too  few  points. 
There  is  more  fun  upon  the  streets  or  in  the 
mill  than  in  spending  hours  in  a  stuffy  school- 
room. He  has  no  traditions  to  urge  him  on, 
and  the  individuals  he  admires  most  may- 
have  had  httle  or  no  schooling. 

The  night  schools  estabhshed  at  a  few  mills 
either  by  the  management  or  by  individuals 
have  done  very  little.  The  operatives  are  tired 
after  the  long  day,  and  there  is  neither  the 
economic  pressure  nor  the  thirst  for  knowledge 
which  makes  such  an  institution  successful 
in  the  city.  Gradually  the  attendance,  which 
may  have  been  satisfactory  at  the  opening, 
lessens  until  the  effort  is  abandoned. 

The  churches  are,  next  to  the  mill  itself,  the 
chief  centers  of  community  Ufe.  The  largest  in 
membership  are  the  Methodist  and  the  Baptist. 
The  Presbyterians  and  the  Lutherans  have 
organizations  at  some  mills.  The  Episcopal 
church  has  never  had  a  hold  upon  the  rural 
population  of  the  middle  and  western  sections 
of  the  state,  and  prejudice  against  it  has  been 


SOCIAL   LIFE  175 

assiduously  cultivated.  The  number  of  Roman 
Catholics  is  neghgible. 

The  power  of  the  church  is  perhaps  greatest 
in  those  communities  where  a  large  proportion 
of  the  operatives  is  fresh  from  the  country. 
Often  the  manager  may  act  as  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school,  and  use  his  powerful 
influence  to  aid  the  organization.  At  some 
mills  the  corporation  itself  acts  as  collecting 
agent  and  deducts  from  the  wages  the  subscrip- 
tions which  have  been  made  for  the  support  of 
the  work.  As  a  result  of  this  poHcy,  the 
ministers,  who  are  often  men  of  ability,  receive 
their  salaries  promptly. 

The  idea  of  the  institutional  church  has 
gained  no  ground.  The  church  authorities  are 
conservative.  The  methods  used  in  the  country 
have  not  been  changed  to  meet  the  new  con- 
ditions. Two  sermons  on  Sunday,  a  weekly 
prayer  meeting,  and  the  Sunday  school,  are 
universal.  Perhaps  there  is  a  missionary  soci- 
ety among  the  women  or  a  ''Parsonage  Aid 
Society,"  and  some  organization  of  the  young 


176   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

people.  These,  however,  meet  with  opposition 
among  some  of  the  older  members  who  hold 
that  no  organization  within  the  church  itself 
is  justified.  Some  of  the  Sunday  schools  have 
small  hbraries.  The  books  are  usually  bought 
in  bulk,  however,  and  are  more  distinguished 
for  ethical  and  doctrinal  soundness  than  for 
literary  value. 

Old-fashioned  orthodox  sermons  are  the  rule. 
The  terrors  of  a  literal  burning  hell,  the  joys 
of  the  righteous  hereafter,  are  expounded  with 
fervor.  The  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  life  to 
come,  and  upon  renunciation  of  the  world, 
rather  than  upon  a  broader,  fuller  life  upon 
the  earth.  One  minister  in  charge  of  a  cotton 
mill  church  in  a  burst  of  impatience  ex- 
claimed to  me  that  the  mill  managers  did  not 
wish  the  thinking  powers  of  their  operatives 
developed,  but  did  wish  them  to  be  very 
rehgious.  This  statement  is  not  entirely  justi- 
fied, but  undoubtedly  the  value  of  religion  as 
an  aid  to  discipline  is  fully  recognized. 

Frequent  '' revivals"  are  held  by  the  Metho- 


SOCIAL   LIFE  177 

dists  and  Baptists.  The  churches  are  filled 
every  night  for  a  week  or  more,  and  the  services 
often  last  until  a  very  late  hour.  A  strange 
mixture  of  methods  prevails.  The  '^ mourner's 
bench"  at  which  those  ''convicted  of  sin" 
may  kneel,  and  the  invitation  to  shake  the  hand 
of  the  minister  as  a  token  of  conversion,  are 
both  used.  The  Moody  and  Sankey  hymns, 
and  the  old  tunes  full  of  haunting  minor  chords 
which  have  done  duty  at  camp-meetings  for  a 
century,  are  heard.  Members  kneel  beside  their 
young  friends  or  move  about  exhorting  them  to 
"come  to  the  altar."  The  air  is  electric  with 
emotion,  and  the  old-fashioned  type  of  ''shout- 
ing Methodist"  is  not  yet  extinct. 

The  pastors  of  these  churches  are  earnest  men, 
who  work  faithfully  for  their  charges ;  but  the 
task  is  discouraging.  Pastoral  visiting  is  un- 
satisfactory, as  often  the  whole  family  is  never 
together  except  on  Sunday,  and  the  mother 
is  busy  when  the  call  is  made.  If  one  family 
receives  a  disproportionate  share  of  pastoral 
attention,  the  others  are  jealous.    Infinite  tact 


178      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

is  required,  and  many  ministers  avoid  so  far  as 
possible  the  care  of  factory  churches. 

In  spite  of  all  the  efforts,  the  testimony  is 
universal  that  the  churches  are  losing  their 
hold  upon  the  mill  population.  The  migratory 
families  neglect  to  bring  letters  of  dismissal 
from  their  former  churches,  and  gradually  lose 
their  interest  in  church  work.  With  the  in- 
creased incidental  opportunities  for  association 
with  their  fellows  the  church  services  are  no 
longer  so  important  from  a  social  standpoint. 
In  the  country,  the  monthly  or  semi-monthly 
services  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  to 
meet  acquaintances  and  friends,  who  were 
seldom  seen  elsewhere.  Then,  too,  the  workers 
are  tired  on  Sunday,  and  the  day  is  more  and 
more  devoted  to  rest  and  recreation. 

Other  agencies  may  be  dismissed  with  a  few 
words.  At  a  few  mills  lecture  courses  are 
maintained,  largely  at  the  expense  of  the  mill 
management.  Theatrical  amusements  are 
under  the  ban.  There  are  few  concerts,  ex- 
cept,  perhaps,    those   given   by   the   Sunday 


SOCIAL   LIFE  179 

school.  A  very  few  mills  have  reading  rooms 
which  may  serve  also  as  clubhouses,  but 
generally  the  management  considers  the  work 
of  furnishing  amusement  no  part  of  its  duty. 

More  and  more,  however,  the  mills  are  en- 
couraging care  in  the  surroundings  of  the 
tenements.  Prizes  are  sometimes  offered  for 
the  best-kept  lawn  and  the  most  attractive 
flower  or  vegetable  gardens.  But  vegetation 
does  not  thrive  upon  a  sun-baked  hillside, 
when  there  is  no  water  system,  and  often  there 
are  few  competitors.  More  attention  is  being 
paid  to  the  surroundings  of  the  mill  itself, 
however,  and  some  are  very  attractive. 

There  is  little  to  gratify  aesthetic  cravings 
around  the  mills  generally.  There  is  little 
pretense  of  architectural  adornment  of  the 
mill  itself.  It  is  frankly  utilitarian,  an  at- 
tempt to  secure  the  maximum  of  space,  light? 
and  convenience  at  the  minimum  cost.  The 
tenements  are  built  with  the  same  end  in  view, 
and  all  are  staringly  new,  though  vines  may 
render  some  of  the  houses  more  pleasing,  and 


180      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

more  comfortable  as  well.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
however,  the  general  impression  given  by  the 
factory  villages  is  usually  one  of  monotonous 
ugliness. 

In  all  the  social  organizations  the  influence 
of  the  managers  is  apparent.  The  people  have 
not  learned  the  social  results  arising  from  co- 
operation and  organization.  Upon  the  farms 
the  families  were  necessarily  largely  self- 
sufficient.  Few  forms  of  neighborhood  activity 
were  possible,  and  time  is  required  for  the  reah- 
zation  of  the  increased  satisfaction  which  may 
arise  from  collective  action. 

To  prescribe  remedies  for  the  bareness  of  the 
lives  of  the  mill  population  is  difficult.  The 
settlement  idea  is  not  the  solution,  even  if  it 
were  practicable.  Any  gains  would  be  more 
than  offset  by  the  weakening  of  the  sturdiness 
and  independence  which  would  necessarily 
follow.  The  operatives  are  not  willing  to  place 
themselves  in  the  attitude  of  expecting  and 
receiving  unearned  and  gratuitous  favors. 

The  institutional  church,  wisely  directed,  in 


SOCIAL   LIFE  181 

which  they  might  feel  a  proprietary  interest, 
would  have  its  influence.  A  change  in  educa- 
tional policy,  which  would  fit  the  instruction 
to  the  needs  of  the  learners,  would  do  more, 
particularly  if  accompanied  by  compulsory 
attendance.  Social  secretaries,  if  those  suf- 
ficiently tactful  could  be  found,  might  do  much 
for  the  girls,  who  need  wise  direction. 

Meanwhile  the  arousing  of  ambition  to  live 
a  broader,  fuller  life;  the  substitution  of 
healthy  discontent  with  that  part  of  the  en- 
vironment which  is  capable  of  improvement, 
for  stolidity  or  unhealthy  dissatisfaction  with 
all  the  surroundings,  is  the  problem  of  the  next 
twenty  years. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  A  CLASS  CONSCIOUSNESS 

From  the  earliest  settlement,  North  Carolina 
has  been  marked  by  a  decided  individuahsm 
and  independence  of  action.  The  attitude  of 
the  inhabitants  toward  the  Proprietors  and  to- 
ward the  king  as  well,  was  one  of  neglect  and 
almost  of  contempt.  A  regulation  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  ideas  of  justice  was  ignored, 
governors  were  driven  out,  and  yet  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole  was  neither  lawless  nor 
turbulent. 

Their  ideal  of  government  was  the  theory 
afterward  stated  by  Jefferson,  that  the  best 
government  is  that  which  governs  least.  The 
people  have  always  been  jealous  of  their  Uber- 
ties.  Real  or  fancied  oppression  would  cause 
an  outburst.    The  citizens  were  ready  to  de- 

182 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS  CONSCIOUSNESS   183 

clare  their  independence  of  Great  Britain  be- 
fore 1776,  regardless  of  consequences,  and  when 
the  stand  was  once  taken,  they  could  not  be 
moved. 

The  various  elements  of  the  population  did 
not  coalesce  and,  for  that  matter,  have  not  done 
so  yet.  Every  political  convention  sees  a  re- 
newal of  the  old  contest.  Sections,  counties, 
neighborhoods,  all  stand  for  something  defi- 
nite, if  that  be  nothing  more  than  an  opposi- 
tion to  change.  The  state  has  never  been  a 
unit  except  when  some  great  idea  fused  the 
people  for  an  instant. 

The  first  constitution  was  not  a  democratic 
instrument.  Voting  and  office  holding  were 
confined  to  the  landowning  and  the  taxpaying 
classes.  With  them  for  a  brief  period  the  Whig 
party  was  influential,  but  the  Democrats,  ad- 
vised by  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  made  stirring 
campaigns  upon  the  issue  of  free  suffrage  and 
won  just  before  the  Civil  War. 

But  the  influence  of  the  Whig  leaders  was 
strong,  even  after  their  political  power  had 


184     FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

departed,  and  when  Demos  came  into  control 
he  was  conservative.  He  was  devoted  to  the 
Union,  to  his  state,  to  his  church,  and  to  his 
poHtical  party.  He  was  unambitious,  not 
easily  moved  by  adverse  circumstances,  accept- 
ing the  apparent  inevitable  with  equanimity, 
almost  with  resignation.^ 

The  people  were  opposed  to  secession,  and 
the  state  did  not  leave  the  Union  until  forced 
out;  and  then  held  on  doggedly,  persistently 
to  the  end.  No  hardship,  no  deprivation,  no 
sacrifice,  was  too  great,  yet  attempts  of  the 
Confederate  government  to  override  the  rights 
of  the  state  were  resented  with  spirit  and 
effect.' 

After  the  war,  the  small  farmer  naturally 
called  himself  a  Conservative,  and  afterward 
a  Democrat.  This  did  not  mean  so  much  the 
acceptance  of  a  body  of  doctrine  as  the  declara- 
tion of  his  behef  in  home  rule  and  the  dominance 

*  For  an  illuminating  study  of  the  psychology  of  the 
North  Carolina  farmer,  see  Page,  "The  Rebuilding  of  Old 
Commonwealths"  (1902). 

"  "  History  of  North  Carolina  Regiments,"  Vol.  V. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS   CONSCIOUSNESS   185 

of  the  fittest.  To  this  day  some  of  the  ''Old  Line 
Whigs"  dishke  to  call  themselves  Democrats. 

Yet  the  independence  of  thought  is  shown 
by  the  presence  of  a  larger  white  Repubh- 
can  vote  than  is  cast  in  any  other  Southern 
state.  Men  have  in  the  past  braved  ostracism 
for  opinions  to  which  they  had  somehow,  per- 
haps with  infinite  difficulty,  come.  Naturally 
as  with  a  conservative  people,  party  labels 
have  been  inherited,  but  individuals  break 
away.  Slowly  but  surely  the  policy  of  the 
state  has  broadened.  No  backward  steps 
have  been  taken.  Every  advance  has  been 
kept.  If  it  has  not  moved  so  rapidly  as  others, 
it  has  made  fewer  dangerous  experiments 
and  fewer  mistakes.  While  less  legislation 
has  been  placed  upon  the  statute  books,  less 
has  been  repealed. 

The  shrinkage  of  agricultural  values  twenty 
years  ago  worked  great  hardships,  which 
have  been  mentioned.  To  the  farmer  there 
seemed  something  wrong,  and  the  succeeding 
Popuhstic     movement     appealed      to     him. 


186   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

Apparently  governmental  policies  had  favored 
certain  classes,  and  he,  too,  joined  the  corn 
growers  of  Kansas  in  the  demand  for  relief. 
But  in  all  of  this  there  was  a  certain  hesita- 
tion. He  was  not  sure  of  his  ground,  though 
he  favored  the  Sub-Treasury  scheme,  in  accord- 
ance with  which  the  government  should  issue 
negotiable  certificates  based  upon  his  prod- 
ucts, deposited  in  government  warehouses. 
It  was  done  for  silver,  why  not  for  cotton? 

Yet  this  was  not  a  conversion  to  Philo- 
sophic Socialism.  He  was  simply  demanding 
a  '^ square  deal."  He  captured  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  but  his  leaders  committed  him 
to  the  Populist  party,  and  his  loyalty  con- 
strained him  to  follow  them;  but  not  so  far 
but  that  he  could  and  did  retrace  his  steps. 
The  doctrine  of  free  silver  met  with  acquies- 
cence rather  than  with  enthusiasm,  and  there 
were  many  hard-headed,  poor  farmers  who  re- 
fused to  become  converted  to  the  fascinating 
doctrine. 

His   difficulty   was   his   inabihty    to    think 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS   CONSCIOUSNESS    187 

consistently  of  himself  as  belonging  to  a  class 
with  distinct  interests.  He  felt  himself  a 
citizen,  equal  to  any  one,  and  bowed  no  more 
to  the  tyranny  of  his  own  class  than  he  did 
to  the  tyranny  of  aristocracy.  The  farmer 
legislator  was  no  more  inclined  to  pass  spe- 
cial legislation  for  himself  than  for  a  corpora- 
tion. A  certain  intention  of  doing  rough 
justice  was  inborn.  Fairness  rather  than  the 
desire  for  personal  advantage  was  his  dominant 
trait,  next  to  his  dislike  of  change. 

All  this  is  not  inconsistent  with  what  has 
been  said  of  the  influence  of  individuals. 
They  possessed  the  influence  because  they 
did  not  demand  it,  because  a  reputation  for 
sanity  and  straightforwardness  had  been 
gained.  The  illiterate  or  unread  man  trusted 
them,  not  because  he  felt  them  his  superiors, 
not  because  of  any  claims  of  descent,  or  of 
wealth,  but  because  of  his  confidence  in  their 
wisdom,  and  in  their  character  as  citizens. 
No  dishonest  man  has  ever  held  political 
influence  long  in  this  state. 


188   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

When  the  farmer,  for  any  of  the  reasons 
mentioned  elsewhere,  comes  to  dwell  in  the 
mill  village,  the  difficulties  of  adjustment 
occupy  him  for  a  time.  He  cannot  live  his 
old  Hfe,  and  his  place  has  not  yet  been  found. 
If  he  works  himself,  steady  employment, 
day  after  day,  rain  or  shine,  contrasts  strongly 
with  the  irregular  employment  on  the  farm. 
If  he  lives  upon  the  earnings  of  his  children, 
the  unaccustomed  leisure  is  no  less  strange. 

The  substitution  of  a  wage  economy  for  a 
products  economy  is  strange  also.  On  the 
farm  the  family  produced  what  it  ate.  At 
the  mill  it  purchases  with  money  what  is 
consumed.  The  amount  received,  measured 
in  money,  is  so  much  larger  than  the  former 
income  that  an  impression  of  prosperity  is 
substituted  for  one  of  scarcity.  This  is  true 
even  where  the  residual  income  is  no  larger 
than  it  was  upon  the  farm. 

The  operative  farmer  may  begin  to  question 
some  of  the  labels  which  he  has  always  borne. 
He   begins  to  see  more   clearly  the   intimate 


DEVELOPMENT   OP   CLASS   CONSCIOUSNESS    189 

connection  of  governmental  policies  with 
economic  interests.  One  mill  manager  said, 
''My  men  are  nearly  all  Republicans,  if  they 
only  knew  it."  Party  ties,  though  not  broken, 
hang  more  loosely.  Independent  voting  be- 
comes more  common. 

Sociahsm  makes  little  appeal  to  him.  He 
hstens  to  an  occasional  missionary,  but  the 
arguments  make  little  impression.  For  one 
reason  he  is  too  close  to  the  soil;  for  another 
he  has  had  in  the  state  as  a  whole  no  real 
contest  with  the  employer  in  which  capital 
was  arrayed  directly  against  labor.  In  few 
counties  has  the  Socialist  party  even  a  skeleton 
organization.  In  one  county  84  votes  were 
cast  in  1902.  In  the  whole  state.  Debs  received 
only  124  votes  in  1904,  and  few  of  these  came 
from  the  cotton  mills. 

As  might  be  expected,  a  class  not  yet  con- 
scious of  itself  affords  sterile  ground  for  labor 
organizations,  which  must  be  based  upon  in- 
dividual subordination.  The  workers  have 
always   acted   as   individuals   and   have   not 


190   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

learned  the  power  of  collective  effort,  nor 
have  they  felt  the  compelling  necessity.  The 
right  of  a  man  to  Uve  his  own  Ufe,  subject  of 
course  to  the  moral  law,  but  unhampered  by 
any  other  restrictions,  seems  to  him  obvious 
and  natural. 

In  1897  the  Arkwright  Club  of  Boston  pre- 
dicted the  ruin  of  the  New  England  industry 
unless  the  advantages  of  hours  and  wages 
in  favor  of  the  South  were  lessened.  In  1899 
Mr.  George  Gunton,  after  a  trip  through  the 
South,  advocated  the  raising  of  a  fund  by 
Northern  manufacturers  to  be  spent  in  union- 
izing the  Southern  operatives,  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  some  money  was  con- 
tributed for  this  purpose. 

Organizers  from  the  North  were  sent  through 
the  South,  and  local  organizers  were  appointed. 
Unfortunately  for  the  cause,  many  of  these 
local  appointees  were  men  of  bad  character, 
unfrocked  clergymen  and  the  like,  who  did 
not  command  the  respect  of  the  people.  The 
protection    of    the    American    Federation    of 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS   CONSCIOUSNESS    191 

Labor  was  promised  to  the  unions,  and  glow- 
ing prospects  of  shorter  hours,  increased  pay, 
and  greater  privileges  were  pictured.  Unions 
were  organized  in  a  number  of  mill  settle- 
ments, though  in  no  case  did  the  organi- 
zation include  the  whole  labor  force.  The 
operatives  were  generally  content,  particu- 
larly as  wages  had  been  increased  about  10 
per  cent,  during  the  twelve  months  preceding. 

The  managers  immediately  took  counsel 
and  agreed  to  act  promptly.  Heretofore 
they  had  managed  their  enterprises  without 
dictation,  and  now  felt  that  a  crisis  was  at 
hand.  The  time  was  propitious  for  them. 
The  market  was  overstocked,  and  many  mills 
were  either  making  very  small  profits  or  were 
operating  simply  to  keep  their  force  together, 
thankful  if  they  could  '^swap  dollars." 

The  first  contest  came  in  Greensboro. 
There  the  Northern  owner  of  the  Proximity 
Mill,  who  said  that  he  had  come  South  to  avoid 
labor  troubles  and  to  be  free  from  the  tyranny 
of  the  textile  organization,  on  learning  of  the 


192   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

existence  of  a  union  among  his  operatives, 
promptly  closed  his  mill.  The  union  was 
not  prepared  for  such  tactics,  and  was  soon 
dissolved. 

An  employee  of  the  Erwin  Mills  at  Durham 
left  the  mill  on  business  for  the  union,  though 
permission  had  been  refused  by  an  overseer. 
He  was  promptly  discharged  on  his  return, 
and,  moved  by  a  sudden  impulse,  the  men 
went  on  strike.  When  an  appeal  was  made 
for  food  for  the  strikers,  a  week  or  two  later, 
Mr.  Erwin  announced  that  his  contest  was 
not  with  the  men,  but  with  unwarranted  in- 
terference with  his  business,  and  authorized 
the  merchants  to  issue  supphes  to  all  his  em- 
ployees, including  the  members  of  the  union. 
No  man  in  the  state  has  done  more  for  the 
welfare  of  his  operatives  than  he,  and  this 
fact,  coupled  with  his  somewhat  quixotic 
action,  soon  caused  the  disbanding  of  the 
union. 

The  strongest  conflict  occurred  in  Alamance 
County,  where  there  were  nearly   twenty-five 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS   CONSCIOUSNESS    193 

small  mills,  owned  chiefly  by  the  Holt  family 
and  its  connections.  The  discharge  of  an 
unpopular  overseer  was  peremptorily  de- 
manded in  the  mill  of  the  T.  M.  Holt  Mfg. 
Co.  The  refusal  resulted  in  a  strike,  and  the 
operatives  in  another  mill  owned  by  the  same 
company  struck  in  sympathy,  and  further 
strikes  were  threatened. 

After  consultation  the  representatives  of 
seventeen  mills  posted  the  following  notice 
during  the  latter  part  of  September,  1900 :  — 

Whereas,  recent  developments  have  shown  that 
this  mill  cannot  be  operated  with  that  harmony  be- 
tween the  owners  and  the  operatives  thereof,  which 
is  essential  to  success,  and  to  the  interests  of  all  con- 
cerned, so  long  as  the  operatives  are  subject  to 
interference  by  outside  parties,  this  is  to  give  notice 
that  on  and  after  the  15th  day  of  October,  1900,  this 
mill  will  not  employ  any  operatives  who  belong  to  a 
labor  union,  but  will  be  run  by  non-union  labor  only. 
All  operatives  who  object  to  the  above  and  will  not 
withdraw  from  labor  unions  will  please  consider  this 
as  notice  and  vacate  any  house  and  premises,  belong- 
ing to  us,  which  they  now  occupy,  on  or  before  the 
15th  day  9f  October,  1900. 


194      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

The  union  at  one  mill  weakened  immedi- 
ately, but  sixteen  establishments  were  closed, 
and  the  manufacturers  thus  avoided  piling 
up  unsalable  goods.  Few  of  these  mills  had 
charged  rents  for  tenements,  and  the  strikers 
had  been  living  in  them  rent  free  as  usual. 
The  order  of  eviction  was  not  carried  out 
strictly,  but  many  operatives  left,  some  to  go 
back  to  the  farms,  some  to  other  mills,  chiefly 
in  Georgia. 

The  national  organization  took  charge  of 
the  strike,  and  one  Thomas  was  sent  to  take 
control.  The  mill  owners  absolutely  refused 
to  treat  with  him,  however.  Some  aid  was 
sent  by  the  national  organization,  and  more 
by  the  Southern  unions ;  but  the  demand  was 
much  greater  than  the  supply.  There  were 
few  houses  for  the  strikers  after  their  evic- 
tion, and  no  money  to  pay  rent.  No  disorder 
occurred,  and  there  was  no  call  for  the  exer- 
cise of  pohce  authority. 

About  the  15th  of  November  desertions 
from  the  union  forces  were  so  numerous  that 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS   CONSCIOUSNESS    195 

the  organization  collapsed,  and  the  workers 
sought  to  return  as  individuals.  Many  non- 
union operatives  had  already  been  employed, 
however,  and  these  were  not  discharged. 
The  vacant  places  were  given  to  the  least 
obnoxious  of  the  strikers. 

Meanwhile  a  threatened  strike  at  Fayette- 
ville  had  been  crushed  by  similar  tactics. 
At  many  other  mills,  meanwhile,  employers 
discharged  union  men.  Where  this  was  not 
done,  the  unions  were  awed  by  the  continued 
success  of  the  manufacturers,  and  made  no 
demands.  A  number  of  unions  continued 
to  exist ;  but  the  number  is  gradually  lessen- 
ing, and  those  still  existing  are  weak.  Some 
manufacturers  will  employ  no  union  men. 
Others,  who  are  confident  of  their  strength, 
are  indifferent.  In  a  few  mills,  some  of  the 
operatives  are  secretly  organized. 

Loyalty  to  the  cause  is  not  yet  strongly 
implanted.  In  fact,  it  is  hardly  realized  that 
there  is  a  cause.  To  the  average  operative 
the  gains  from  unionism  are  not  balanced  by 


196   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

the  sacrifice  of  individual  initiative,  the  right 
to  independence  of  action.  He  is  not  yet 
ready  to  put  the  union  before  everything 
else.  He  does  not  feel  that  the  spinner  in 
Fall  River  or  the  weaver  in  Lowell  are  closer 
to  him  than  the  people  of  his  own  section 
even  though  they  pursue  different  occupations. 
In  1903  the  United  Textile  Workers  practi- 
cally threw  overboard  the  Southern  unions, 
chiefly  on  account  of  failure  to  pay  assessments. 

The  opposition  of  the  manufacturers  has 
the  same  foundation  as  their  opposition  to 
restrictive  legislation.  They  do  not  consider 
their  business  a  public  matter,  and  resent  in- 
terference. They  believe  that  the  organiza- 
tion of  their  mills  was  an  attempt  to  cripple 
them,  on  the  part  of  their  competitors,  and 
that  agitation  for  shorter  hours,  a  national 
labor  law,  etc.,  arises  from  the  same  source, 
and  not  from  any  real  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  their  operatives. 

They  have  heard  of  the  excesses  of  the 
unions  in  other  sections,  where  strikes  lasting 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  CLASS  CONSCIOUSNESS   197 

for  months  are  not  uncommon.  Their  oper- 
atives have  been  generally  content  and  have 
worked  without  friction.  Naturally  they 
wish  to  preserve   this   condition   as   long  as 

4 

possible.  For  this  reason  many  opposed  any 
beginning  of  legislative  interference.  Few 
object  to  the  law  passed  by  the  legislature 
of  1903,  but  they  fear  further  encroachments 
upon  their  Uberty  of  action. 

The  position  is  thus  set  forth  by  a  prominent 
manufacturer:  "The  entering  wedge  has  been  made, 
and  now  we  look  for  each  successive  meeting  of  our 
honorable  law-makers,  and  guardians  of  the  people's 
rights  and  liberties,  to  become  more  radical,  until 
in  the  course  of  a  very  short  time  we  shall  see  the 
'  walking  delegates '  in  full  force  and  control.  Equal- 
ity of  opportunity  is  the  sole  distinguishing  feature 
of  American  civilization,  yet  we  see  a  supposed  con- 
servative body  of  representative  North  Carolinians, 
unknowingly  abridging  this  principle  of  liberty  and 
laying  the  mud-sills  upon  which  will  germinate  unions 
and  all  of  the  attendant  evils  connected  with  the 
same,  which  are  becoming  dangerous  not  only  to 
their  original  purpose  but  to  our  very  government 
itself.     Our  competitors  of  the  East  are  now  very 


198      FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON   MILL 

much  entangled  in  the  web  of  labor  laws  and  desire 
that  we  be  caught  in  the  same  net." 

Some  manufacturers,  ignorant  of  industrial 
history,  believe  that  by  united  effort  the  unions 
can  be  kept  out  permanently.  The  inconsist- 
ency of  their  position  does  not  occur  to  them. 
Others  realize  that  the  organization  of  the 
mills  is  a  matter  of  time,  that  a  class  conscious- 
ness must  develop  more  rapidly  in  the  future ; 
but  all  are  resolved  to  postpone  the  day  as 
long  as  possible. 

Meanwhile  there  are  signs  of  restlessness 
among  the  operatives,  slight  to  be  sure,  but 
existent  nevertheless.  No  particular  griev- 
ances have  yet  been  formulated.  The  ques- 
tions of  shorter  hours  and  decidedly  larger 
wages  have  not  yet  become  demands.  In 
fact,  they  are  hardly  yet  seen  as  possibilities. 
But  there  are  signs  of  incredulity  when  the 
employer  speaks  of  low  profits  or  difficult 
sales.  They  wonder  at  the  success  of  the 
manufacturer  as  yet,  but  envy  may  follow, 
and  then  questioning. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   CLASS  CONSCIOUSNESS    199 

When  the  operatives  know  no  other  life 
than  that  of  the  mill  village,  when  the  con- 
nection with  the  soil  is  broken,  leaders  may 
arise  who  will  preach  the  ''war  of  the  classes." 
Much  preaching  will  be  necessary,  but  the 
dormant  class  consciousness  is  already  stirring. 
Already  the  operatives  are  beginning  to  think 
of  themselves  as  a  peculiar  people.  Many 
years,  however,  will  be  required  to  produce 
sharp  Unes  of  distinction.  There  is  too  much 
inborn  and  inbred  democracy  for  the  final 
breach  to  appear  in  the  immediate  future. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE   RELATIONS   OF   EMPLOYER   AND   EMPLOYED 

The  relations  of  employer  and  employed 
in  the  small  mills  of  the  South,  and  of  North 
Carolina  particularly,  differ  from  similar  rela- 
tions in  the  older  manufacturing  sections, 
both  in  spirit  and  in  detail.  Manufacturing 
has  developed  so  rapidly  in  an  agricultural 
society  that  the  relation  is  still  one  between 
individuals,  and  not  between  a  corporation 
and  a  class. 

There  is,  as  yet,  no  self-created  aristocracy 
of  mill  owners,  such  as  developed  in  England 
or  New  England  with  the  growth  of  the  cotton 
industry.  The  second  generation  seldom 
has  charge  of  mills,  and  still  more  rarely  the 
third.  The  active  manager  of  the  mill  busi- 
ness, himself  usually  a  stockholder,  is  not  de- 
pendent upon  non-resident  stockholders.    In 

200 


RELATIONS  OF  EMPLOYER  AND  EMPLOYED   201 

the  small  mills  the  manager,  either  the  secretary 
or  the  president,  often  knows  every  operative 
both  by  sight  and  by  name.  He  may  know 
any  kinship  between  different  families,  and  may 
even  know  the  quarrels  and  the  love  affairs. 

Often  the  manager  and  the  operatives  have 
many  experiences  and  traditions  in  common, 
and  share  many  of  the  same  ideas.  The 
stages  in  the  progress  of  a  mill  manager  are 
often  from  a  farm  to  a  country  store,  from 
the  country  store  to  a  village,  and  then  to  the 
control  of  a  mill.  Possibly  as  a  boy  he  played 
with  individual  operatives  or  with  their  parents 
in  the  country,  and  knows  them  for  two  gen- 
erations. At  least  he  knows  the  general 
neighborhood  from  which  they  came,  and 
can  understand  their  point  of  view.  I  have 
heard  an  operative  call  a  mill  manager  by  his 
first  name,  without  a  suspicion  of  imperti- 
nence. There  is,  too,  a  certain  clannishness 
among  the  Southern  people,  which  sometimes 
has  practical  results.  It  is  related  of  one 
successful  manager  of  several  mills,  that  he 


202      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

will  always  manage  to  find  work  for  a  family 
from  the  county  in  which  he  was  born  and 
began  his  business  career.  Then,  too,  there 
is  the  broader  feeling  that  they  are  all  of  the 
same  people  —  Southerners ;  sharers  in  sym- 
pathy, history,  and  traditions.  The  general 
result  is  kindliness  on  the  side  of  the  employer, 
and  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  employed. 

Almost  invariably  in  the  smaller  factory 
communities,  and  often  in  the  larger,  the 
house  of  the  mill  manager  is  near  the  mill 
and  its  tenements.  The  manager  and  oper- 
atives attend  the  same  church  and  Sunday 
school.  The  manager's  wife  may  be  active 
in  church  work,  and  often  visits  every  sick 
woman  or  child  in  the  community.  The 
manager  may  take  an  active  part  in  the  sup- 
port and  management  of  the  baseball  team, 
practically  the  only  form  of  athletics  commonly 
found.  When  an  operative  is  in  trouble,  he 
instinctively  turns  to  the  manager  for  advice, 
and  usually  receives  aid  as  well. 

With  the  knowledge  of  the  circumstances 


RELATIONS   OF   EMPLOYER   AND   EMPLOYED   203 

and  the  residences  of  every  family  comes 
inquiry  if  operatives  are  missing  from  their 
places.  Miss  Van  Vorst  totally  misunder- 
stood the  purpose  of  such  inquiry  in  the 
sentimental  and  imaginative  account  of  her 
experiences/  It  is  not  prompted  by  harsh- 
ness but  by  the  desire  to  secure  the  knowl- 
edge necessary  for  successful  operation. 
When  sickness  comes,  supplies  are  furnished 
from  the  store,  if  one  is  connected  with  the 
mill,  or  accounts  are  guaranteed  at  a  neigh- 
boring store;  fuel  is  provided;  a  doctor  is 
sent,  and  funeral  expenses  are  guaranteed. 
The  mill  is  protected  to  some  extent  by  the 
wages  kept  in  arrears,  but  in  any  considerable 
illness  this  is  soon  swallowed  up,  and  only 
the  innate  honesty  of  the  operatives  prevents 
loss.^    Sometimes    the    confidence    is  abused, 

1 "  The  Woman  Who  Toils  "  (1903), 

^  Wages  are  paid  weekly  or  fortnightly,  but  generally  for 
the  previous  period;  i.e.  an  operative  beginning  work 
receives  no  pay  until  two  periods,  or  else  a  fortnight  and  a 
week,  have  passed.  Then  wages  are  paid  regularly.  Notice 
of  leaving  is  required,  and  if  all  the  accounts  due  the  mill 
have  been  settled,  the  arrears  are  paid  at  once. 


204      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

but  oftener  the  workers  return  to  the  mill 
and  pay  the  accounts/ 

Where  the  mill  owner  or  manager  will  take 
the  trouble  he  can  usually  influence  the  votes 
of  his  operatives  on  any  question  not  imme- 
diately connected  with  the  partisan  politics, 
and  sometimes  even  then.  In  1896,  as  the 
result  of  a  bitter  local  contest,  the  operatives 
of  a  large  mill  voted  the  Republican  ticket 
sohdly.  Such  a  departure  from  the  usual 
course  is  rare,  but  on  local  questions  the 
operatives  vote  with  their  employers.  Many 
towns  have  laws  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intox- 
icants through  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
mill  management,  which  demands  them  as 
aids  to  the  regularity  of  operatives.  In 
short,  the  relationship  is  more  or  less  feudal. 
The  manager  is  the  strong  man,  who  has 
forced  himself  to  the  front,  and  proves  his 


*  One  superintendent  informed  the  writer  (1904)  that 
within  two  years,  during  epidemics  of  grippe,  he  had  guaran- 
teed accounts  amounting  to  nearly  $3000,  of  which  he  had 
been  called  upon  to  pay  less  than  $5. 


RELATIONS   OF  EMPLOYER   AND   EMPLOYED   205 

fitness  for  leadership  by  his  continued  success. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  fear  which  influ- 
ences the  operatives.  They  follow  leaders 
because  they  respect  them,  because  it  seems 
the  natural  course.  Possibly  it  is  inherent 
in  Southern  character  to  look  to  men  rather 
than  to  an  abstract  consideration  of  relation- 
ship.^ The  maintenance  of  such  influence 
grows  more  difficult  with  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation in  the  towns,  unless  the  mill  is  upon 
the  outskirts  and  has  its  own  community 
Hfe. 

There  are  few  mills  where  an  operative 
having  a  grievance  against  an  overseer  cannot 
take  it  directly  to  headquarters  and  secure  a 
hearing.  The  employer  does  not  screen  him- 
self behind  office  boys,  but  will  deal  with  the 
operative  man  and  man  and  not  refuse  him 
the  opportunity  to  present  his  side  of  the  case. 
Overseers  are  often  overruled  and  discipHne 
is  benefited  rather  than  injured  by  such  ac- 
tion.   In  spite  of  their  deference  to  the  man- 

*  For  further  discussion,  see  Chs.  VI  and  X. 


206   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

agement,  the  operatives  are  not  servile.  The 
expression  often  heard  about  a  mill,  ''  'pore/ 
but  proud,"  is  wonderfully  descriptive.  The 
pride  is  foolish  oftentimes,  but  they  will  give 
up  a  position  rather  than  submit  to  a  real  or 
fancied  injustice.  The  confession  of  a  mistake 
and  its  correction  by  the  management  will 
be  less  harmful  to  disciphne  than  sustaining 
a  manifestly  unjust  act  of  a  foreman.  Of 
course,  injustice  may  be  done.  The  word  of 
a  superintendent  or  an  overseer  naturally 
carries  more  weight  than  that  of  a  less  impor- 
tant employee ;  but  an  overseer  no  matter  how 
great  his  technical  quahfications  cannot  hold 
his  position  very  long  when  disUked  by  any 
considerable  portion  of  the  operatives.  The 
personal  element  is  so  important  in  the  South- 
em  mills  that  a  good  manager  of  "help"  is 
more  valued  than  a  man  having  greater  tech- 
nical knowledge  without  such  tact. 

For  this  reason  the  importation  of  New 
England  overseers  has  not  been  particularly 
successful.    Apparently  these  are  accustomed 


RELATIONS  OF  EMPLOYER  AND  EMPLOYED  207 

to  look  upon  the  operatives,  during  working 
hours  at  least,  as  a  part  of  the  mill  equipment 
and  to  neglect  personal  peculiarities.  They 
forget  that  they  are  not  deaUng  with  crystal- 
lized mill  traditions  developed  through  a 
hundred  years,  but  with  individuals  fresh 
from  rural  independence,  engaged  in  a  new 
industry.  These  individuals,  while  loyal 
and  tractable,  are  at  the  same  time  restive 
under  control.  The  case  of  the  regular  and 
the  volunteer  regiment  presents  some  points 
of  similarity,  but  the  mill  superintendent 
cannot  hold  his  operatives  against  their  will 
as  the  army  officer  is  able  to  do.  Another 
position  is  too  easy  to  secure. 

Even  if  these  operatives  were  only  tenant 
farmers,  large  liberty  of  action  was  allowed, 
in  details  at  least,  and  they  cannot  be  treated 
as  a  mass  when  they  come  to  the  mill.  A 
part  of  the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  New 
Englander  may  be  owing  to  the  feeling  of 
aloofness  and  to  the  sectional  prejudice  of 
the    Southerner,    particularly   of   the   unedu- 


208   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

cated  Southerner  —  an  aloofness  which  would 
require  a  volume  to  explain.  However,  cer- 
tain individuals  among  the  imported  over- 
seers have  been  remarkably  successful,  and 
this  would  seem  to  show  that  the  difficulty 
does  not  lie  in  sectional  prejudice  alone.  No 
better  explanation  than  that  of  the  attitude 
and  personality  of  the  foreigner  generally  has 
been  offered. 

There  is  little  definite  jealousy  of  the 
greater  wealth  of  the  operators.  One  may  hear 
around  the  village  many  complaints  of  ''hard 
times,"  or  of  the  smallness  of  the  wages.  The 
prices  paid  at  the  company  store  may  be 
criticised,  though,  in  fact,  they  are  so  much 
lower  than  those  paid  when  buying  ''on 
time"  in  the  country,  that  this  complaint  is 
not  heard  so  often  as  might  be  expected. 
The  company  store  in  North  Carolina  usually 
meets  the  competition  of  independent  establish- 
ments and  often  attracts  the  custom  of  out- 
siders. Years  ago  operatives  at  many  mills 
were  paid  in  checks,  good  at  the  store,  but 


RELATIONS  OF  EMPLOYER  AND  EMPLOYED  209 

redeemed  in  cash  at  unfrequent  intervals. 
Prices  were  frequently  exorbitant,  but  eco- 
nomic forces  have  brought  great  changes  ex- 
cept in  a  few  remote  localities.  The  company 
store  is  no  longer  universal  and  often  exists 
principally  for  the  convenience  of  the  oper- 
atives. A  cotton-mill  superintendent  of  wide 
experience  states  the  opinion  that  the  prices 
in  the  company  stores  generally  range  from 
5  to  10  per  cent,  lower  than  in  the  inde- 
pendent establishments/  and  personal  ob- 
servation seems  to  confirm  this  view.  This 
is  possible,  since  they  cater  to  a  definite  trade, 
can  estimate  closely  the  volume  of  business, 
and  sell  only  for  cash  or  its  equivalent. 

The  justice  of  the  local  distribution  of  wealth 
is  seldom  questioned.  They  have  seen  the 
capitalist  apparently  create  wealth  unknown 
before.  They  saw  the  better  market  for 
wood;  cotton,  and  farm  produce  follow  the 
establishment  of  the  mill.      Their  own  wages 

'  Interview,  1904.    See  also  pamphlet,  "  Do  Not  Grind 
the  Seed  Corn"  (National  Child  Labor  Com.,  1905). 
p 


210   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

buy  comforts  and  luxuries  unknown  on  the 
farms,  and  these  outweigh  to  them  the  advan- 
tages of  country  Hfe.  It  is  simply  a  phase  of 
the  problem  which  vexes  the  social  student 
in  the  city,  who  laments  the  fact  that  people 
will  not  stay  upon  the  farms,  but  prefer  to 
live  in  crowded  tenements.  As  the  members 
of  the  family  grow  older,  the  income  increases 
and  a  rising  standard  gives  more  satisfaction 
than  a  higher  stationary  one.  Put  into  the 
succinct  phrase  of  a  native,  ''It's  not  doing 
well,  that  makes  people  contented,  it's  doing 
better."  More  than  all  else,  perhaps,  these 
people  and  their  ancestors  have  held  land, 
and  a  land-holding  population  is  not  in- 
clined toward  sociaUsm.  As  these  tradi- 
tions of  a  rural  past  are  lost,  in  the  devel- 
opment of  an  operative  class,  two  or  three 
generations  from  the  farm,  and  wants  increase 
faster  than  the  means  of  supplying  them, 
changes  will  come. 

The  attitude  of  the  mill  owners  and  man- 
agers toward  the  social  welfare  of  the  oper- 


RELATIONS   OF   EMPLOYER   AND   EMPLOYED   211 

atives  is  by  no  means  uniform.  At  some 
mills  much  is  done;  at  others,  nothing  except 
perhaps  a  subscription  from  the  mill  treasury 
to  aid  a  struggling  church.  Existing  agen- 
cies for  social  betterment  are  described  and 
discussed  in  another  place.  What  has  been 
done  is  usually  the  personal  expression  of  the 
man  in  charge  who  controls  the  directors 
while  he  is  able  to  pay  dividends.  He  has 
not  been  coerced  by  pubhc  opinion,  nor  by 
the  demand  of  the  operatives  themselves, 
nor  by  a  sense  of  the  collective  responsibihty 
of  the  corporation.  The  pubhc  as  yet  recog- 
nizes only  two  factors  in  industrial  hfe,  —  the 
state  and  the  individual.  It  has  not  become 
conscious  of  the  corporation,  nor  fixed  its  re- 
sponsibihties.  So  far  the  corporation  is  only 
the  men  controlling  it,  and  they  are  judged  in  a 
personal  rather  than  in  a  corporate  capacity. 

The  corporation  has  not  recognized  its 
quasi-public  character.  The  stockholders  and 
directors  still  consider  their  relation  to  the 
operatives  that  of  individuals.     The  duty  of 


212      FEOM   COTTON   FIELD   TO   COTTON  MILL 

an  individual,  they  consider,  is  to  pay  the 
market  rate  of  wages,  and  in  addition  to  give 
personal  kindness  in  misfortune  and  protec- 
tion in  trouble.  Their  conception  of  the 
duty  of  a  corporation  is  similar.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  condition  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals, with  many  outside  interests,  working 
for  another  individual,  and  that  of  a  large 
body  of  operatives  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages 
in  a  community  of  their  own,  working,  year 
after  year,  for  a  corporation,  around  which 
all  their  interests  center,  has  not  been  real- 
ized. There  are  striking  exceptions,  particu- 
larly among  the  larger  mills,  but  the  corpo- 
ration idea  is  too  new  for  any  considerable 
growth  of  other  sentiment. 

If  the  managers  of  the  mills  have  not  felt 
the  obligation  to  provide  elaborate  agencies 
for  social  improvement,  the  operatives,  on 
the  other  hand,  have  not  definitely  demanded 
them.  They,  too,  are  individualists,  even 
though  they  have  become  gregarious.  Many 
are  ignorant  of  such  things,  and  they  are  sus- 


RELATIONS   OF  EMPLOYER  AND   EMPLOYED   213 

picious  of  anything  which  smacks  of  patron- 
age. The  Social  Settlement,  with  the  sense 
of  superiority  thinly  covered  with  a  veneer 
of  fellow-feeling,  would  find  Httle  support 
among  them.  They  have  not  yet  become 
accustomed  to  expect  that  which  does  not 
come  as  a  direct  tangible  result  of  their  own 
labor.  Social  work  in  a  factory  community 
is  difficult,  requiring  infinite  tact.  The  ten- 
tative efforts  put  forth  in  some  neighborhoods 
have  often  resulted  in  failure,  to  the  discour- 
agement of  the  experimenters.  This  failure 
has  not  been  caused  so  much  by  ingratitude 
as  by  independence.  The  operatives  recog- 
nize no  reason  why  these  things  should  be 
done.  Their  employers  are  only  men  in  bet- 
ter circumstances  than  themselves,  and  not 
a  class  raised  above  them  from  whom  they 
must  gratefully  accept  tokens  of  good  will. 
The  manager  must  come  man  to  man  if  he 
wishes  to  influence  them. 

These   personal    relations    cannot    endure. 
The  isolation  of  the  cotton-mill  communities 


214      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

is  already  breaking  up  in  a  few  localities. 
Heretofore  the  cotton  mill  often  has  been  the 
only  industrial  establishment  in  the  town  or 
village;  but  wiih  the  rapid  development  of 
other  manufacturing  enterprises,  the  textile 
operative  becomes  only  one  of  a  number  of 
industrial  workers.  Up  to  this  time  their 
association  has  been  instinctive  rather  than 
rational.  With  the  development  of  a  class 
consciousness  will  come  a  weakening  of  one 
side  of  that  relation  to  their  employers  which, 
for  want  of  a  better  word,  we  have  called  feu- 
dal. On  the  other  hand,  the  lessening  of 
pride  and  independence  among  the  weaker, 
and  the  development  of  dependents  and 
paupers,  is  to  be  feared. 

The  previous  futile  attempts  to  organize 
the  mill  workers  are  described  in  another 
place.  With  the  development  of  a  class 
consciousness,  organization  follows  naturally. 
The  employers  are  already  organizing.  The 
profits  are  smaller  than  ten  years  ago.  In 
some  lines  there  is  overproduction;    labor  is 


RELATIONS   OF  EMPLOYER   AND   EMPLOYED   215 

not  SO  abundant,  though  the  reserve  is  still 
large;  the  margin  between  the  cost  of  the 
raw  material  and  the  price  of  the  finished 
product  is  not  so  large.  Each  manufacturer 
can  no  longer  be  a  law  unto  himself.  Asso- 
ciations and  understandings  become  common. 
These  range  from  informal  agreements  among 
the  manufacturers  of  a  town,  regarding  em- 
ployment of  operatives  or  the  purchase  of 
cotton,  to  larger  organization  attempting  to 
control  prices  and  production. 

The  increasing  complexity  of  his  problems 
is  working  changes  in  the  manufacturer. 
Individuals  of  a  type  before  almost  unknown 
in  the  South,  though  common  in  industrial 
societies  generally,  appear  here  and  there. 
They  are  cold,  shrewd,  farsighted.  Senti- 
ment in  them  does  not  interfere  with  the  strict 
working  of  the  principle  of  self-advantage. 
Sometimes  he  is  a  man  whose  family  was  long 
prominent  poHtically  or  socially.  The  stress 
of  circumstances  following  the  Civil  War 
possibly  deprived  him  of  educational  oppor- 


216      FROM  COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON   MILL 

tunities,  and  the  struggle  for  existence  has 
embittered  him.  The  reaction  from  the  old 
ideas  is  almost  a  revulsion.  Scrupulous  ex- 
actness in  financial  matters  has  been  substi- 
tuted for  carelessness;  the  desire  for  wealth, 
for  political  ambition;  an  eager  activity, 
for  ease  and  dignity.  Perhaps  he  has  studied 
the  position  of  the  entrepreneur  in  other  sec- 
tions and  discards  former  relations  as  South- 
ern provincialism.  Sometimes  this  manager 
has  come  up  from  generations  of  poverty 
and  hardships.  He  has  conquered  his  ob- 
stacles and  intends  to  make  the  most  of  his 
success.  With  these  must  be  mentioned  a 
few  Northerners,  who  have  come  to  the  state 
to  escape  the  restrictions  in  the  North. 

This  type  of  employer  is  not  yet  common 
and  is  not  likely  to  become  the  rule.  The 
personal  element  in  Southern  hfe  is  too  strong. 
Meanwhile,  however,  his  influence  upon  the 
managers  of  the  older  type  must  be  felt. 
Another  type,  a  compromise,  will  arise,  which 
will  deal  with  a  new  class  of  employees.    In 


RELATIONS  OF  EMPLOYER  AND  EMPLOYED  217 

the  inevitable  contest  for  a  larger  share  of  the 
product,  the  operatives  will,  for  a  time,  lose 
more  in  personal  kindliness  than  they  gain 
in  wages  or  hours  of  labor.  The  organization 
of  the  employers  will  be  perfected  first. 
Slowly  the  operatives  will  sink  their  indi- 
vidualism and  independence  in  an  organiza- 
tion of  which  the  benefits  are  not  immedi- 
ately apparent.  When  the  lesson  is  learned, 
the  unions  will  be  powerful.  These  men  are 
physically  fearless,  are  native  to  the  soil,  are 
capable  of  sacrifice  for  an  idea,  and  there  is 
always  the  land  to  which  they  may  return 
if  beaten.^ 

Undoubtedly  many  manufacturers  do  not 
realize  that  the  older  type  of  operative,  or 
of  father  of  a  family  of  operatives,  is  passing, 
never  to  return.  The  changes  in  the  attitude 
of  the  operatives  are  coming  slowly,  and  are 
by  no  means  uniform  in  different  sections, 
or  even  in  the  same  section.    At  one    mill 

^SeeCh.  VIII,  p.  159. 


218      FROM   COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

the  old  patriarchal  relation  continues;  at 
another  the  labor  force  is  constantly  chang- 
ing, and  the  only  bond  is  the  "nexus  of  cash 
payments." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   CHILD    IN  THE   MILL 

The  impression  that  the  success  of  the 
Southern  mills  has  been  built  wholly  upon 
the  labor  of  children  is  widespread.  Real 
and  fancied  descriptions  have  emphasized 
this  view.  The  labor  agitator,  the  profes- 
sional reformer,  the  yellow  journalist,  have 
joined  in  telling  of  '^  childhood  blotted  out 
to  add  a  few  more  dollars  to  the  dividends 
of  aristocratic  stockholders  of  hell's  mills  of 
the  South."  Certain  phases  have  been  seized 
as  themes  for  fiction. 

The  defenders  of  Southern  conditions  have 
resorted  to  denials,  to  heated  denunciations 
of  meddlers,  to  rose-colored  descriptions, 
and  to  countercharges.  Their  answers  have 
been  little  read  except  locally  and  have  done 
little  to  modify  the  prevailing  idea.    A  few 

219 


220   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

persons  have  endeavored  to  describe  condi- 
tions faithfully  and  dispassionately ;  but  they, 
too,  have  made  Httle  impression,  perhaps  be- 
cause they  have  not  sought  to  analyze  the 
underlying  causes. 

Now  child  labor  is  first  of  all  an  economic 
phenomenon  and  has  existed  through  all 
stages  of  civihzation.  The  basis  is  economy 
of  muscle  and  intelligence  in  applying  to  a 
given  task  no  more  of  either  than  is  necessary 
for  satisfactory  accomphshment.  In  Egypt 
and  India,  at  the  earhest  periods  of  which  we 
have  any  account,  children  had  their  tasks. 
They  have  had  them  in  all  agricultural  socie- 
ties and  have  them  to-day. 

Industriahsm  does  not  create  the  phenome- 
non, but  concentrates  it,  and  changes  the 
form,  regularity,  and  intensity.  A  larger 
proportion  of  children  is  employed  in  an 
agricultural  than  in  a  manufacturing  society. 
On  farms  nearly  all  children  old  enough  to  be 
of  service  work  all  day  during  a  part  of  the 
year,  and  a  part  of  the  day  during  the  whole 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE    MILL  221 

year.  In  1880,  before  the  growth  of  manu- 
facturing in  North  Carohna,  55.9  per  cent,  of 
the  males  between  10  and  15  were  reported  as 
being  engaged  in  gainful  occupations,  com- 
pared with  55.1  per  cent,  in  1900,  and  43.1 
per  cent,  of  the  total  was  still  engaged  in 
agriculture  in  this  year.  But  even  these 
figures,  large  as  they  are,  do  not  represent 
the  whole  tiTith.  Undoubtedly  many  far- 
mers did  not  report  the  names  of  all  their 
children  who  performed  services  upon  the 
farm. 

This  has  always  seemed  the  natural  state 
of  things  in  an  agricultural  society.  It  is 
only  when  the  people  of  a  community  have 
ceased  to  think  in  terms  of  agriculture  that 
the  discussion  of  child  labor  as  an  ethical 
and  social  problem  begins.  Only  then  are 
social  considerations  contrasted  with  the  ap- 
parent economic  advantages,  and  we  find 
the  theory  advanced  that  no  work  whatever 
should  be  required  of  children. 

It   is   in  an    agricultural  society  suddenly 


222   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

engaged  in  manufacturing  that  we  must  study 
the  employment  of  the  child.  The  problem 
is  not  new.  We  shall  find  that  the  employ- 
ment of  children  in  the  North  Carolina  mills 
follows  well-defined  laws  observed  elsewhere, 
modified,  however,  by  certain  social  and  sec- 
tional idiosyncrasies,  which  must  be  consid- 
ered. 

The  number  of  children  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing is  difficult  to  ascertain,  even  though 
their  employment  is  confined  chiefly  to  two 
industries, — textiles  and  tobacco.  The  latter 
and  smaller  industry  is  irregular  in  operation, 
and  we  shall  confine  the  discussion  to  the 
manufacture  of  cotton,  including,  however, 
a  few  small  woolen  mills. 

The  first  difficulty  lies  in  the  definition  of 
child.  The  United  States  Census  fixes  the 
line  between  adults  and  children  at  16,  and 
its  tables  are  made  upon  this  basis.  For 
a  time  the  North  Carolina  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics  fixed  the  line  at  14,  but  since 
the  agitation  for  the  present  act  prohibiting 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE    MILL  223 

the  employment  of  those  under  12  began, 
only  those  below  that  age  have  been  so 
counted. 

In  1900  the  Census  reported  7129  children 
below  16  engaged  in  cotton  manufacturing 
out  of  a  total  of  30,273  operatives,  or  a  little 
more  than  23|-  per  cent.  The  State  Bureau 
of  Labor  Statistics  for  the  same  year  found 
in  the  entire  textile  industry  7598  children 
below  14,  of  a  total  of  38,637  operatives, 
or  about  19f  per  cent,  of  the  total.  The  next 
year  7996  below  14  were  found  in  a  total 
force  of  45,044,  or  about  17f  per  cent. 

In  1901  the  manufacturers,  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  a  labor  law,  formally  agreed  to 
employ  no  children  under  twelve  (unless  the 
support  of  a  widowed  mother  or  a  physically 
disabled  father),  and  the  statistics  for  1902 
were  gathered  upon  that  basis. 

In  that  year,  178  mills  representing  1,209,819 
spindles  reported  929  children  under  12, 
an  average  of  a  little  more  than  5  to  the 
mill.    Ninety-eight  mills  with  533,612  spindles 


224   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

failed  to  report  this  item.  If  the  same  pro- 
portion existed  in  these  mills,  the  total  in 
all  the  mills  of  the  state  would  be  1339.  It 
is  natural  to  suppose,  however,  that  the  omis- 
sion was  intentional  and  the  obvious  reason 
would  appear  to  be  the  disinclination  to  give 
evidence  against  themselves.  Miss  Sewall 
found  in  1903  that  the  number  of  children 
under  12  in  a  limited  number  of  selected  estab- 
lishments was  about  18  percent,  of  those  under 
16,  which  proportion  would  make  the  number 
for  the  whole  state  about  2000.* 

The  figures  of  the  mills  reporting  to  the 
state  bureau  are,  moreover,  not  above  sus- 
picion. No  vital  statistics  are  kept  by  the 
state  nor  by  the  municipalities.  Where  the 
managers  honestly  attempted  to  prevent 
the  employment  of  very  young  children,  the 
word  of  the  parent  was  necessarily  the  chief 
reliance  for  information.  Always  in  in- 
dustrial history  such  statements  have  been 
influenced   by  greed  or  apparent  necessity. 

'  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor  Bulletin,  No.  52  (May,  1904). 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE    MILL  225 

The  figures  given  in  the  earlier  reports,  i.e. 
the  number  of  those  under  14,  are  per- 
haps approximately  correct,  as  in  them  there 
was  no  reason  for  misstatement.  The  com- 
parison of  figures  from  all  available  sources 
apparently  shows  that  about  25  per  cent, 
of  the  total  number  employed  are  under 
16  years  of  age.  This  proportion,  while 
large,  is  much  smaller  than  has  been  indicated 
by  irresponsible  writers. 

Observation  regardless  of  statistics  shows 
the  extensive  employment  of  children.  A 
visit  to  certain  departments  of  a  mill  shows 
few  adults;  or  one  may  see  the  children 
entering  or  leaving  the  mills  as  work  begins 
or  ends.  In  fact,  their  numbers  often  seem 
proportionally  greater  than  they  actually  are 
from  the  concentration  of  their  employment 
in  a  few  departments.^ 

Further,  many  of  these  children  began  work 
at  a  very  early  age.  Of  98  children  observed 
by  Miss  Sewall,  79  began  work  before  the  age 

*  See  Ch.  VII  for  description  of  work. 
Q 


226      FROM    COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

of  12,  and  37  began  before  the  age  of  10.  Only 
11  under  12  were  found  employed  at  the  time 
of  the  investigation,  however.  These  figures 
are  not  broad  enough  for  a  generalization,  and 
some  of  the  establishments  visited  are  among 
the  worst  in  the  state. 

As  was  indicated  in  a  previous  chapter,  these 
children  are  employed  almost  exclusively  in 
the  spinning  rooms.  Few  in  other  depart- 
ments are  below  16.  The  work  has  been 
described.  The  spinners,  chiefly  girls,  twist 
together  the  broken  threads,  and  the  boys 
replace  the  full  bobbins  with  empty  ones. 

From  the  standpoint  of  muscular  exertion, 
the  work  is  not  difficult.  Little  physical 
strength  is  required,  and  the  work  is  not  con- 
tinuous. The  position  while  working  is  con- 
strained, however,  and  backs  grow  tired  from 
stooping  before  the  long  day  draws  to  a  close. 
When  not  employed  the  spinners  may  sit,  and 
the  doffers  lounge  about  the  mill,  or  even  play 
in  the  yard.  The  air  is  fresh,  though  sometimes 
filled  with  tiny  particles  of  lint,   depending 


THE    CHILD   IN  THE   MILL  227 

somewhat  upon  the  product  and  the  quality 
of  the  cotton. 

The  chief  demand  is  constant  watchfuhiess. 
Every  thread  must  be  mended  as  soon  as  it  is 
broken,  and  a  spinner  has  from  200  to  800 
spindles  to  watch.  No  great  demand  is  made 
upon  the  mental  faculties,  and  the  work  is  mo- 
notonous. The  noise  of  the  machinery  also 
must  have  its  effect  upon  the  nerves  and  indi- 
rectly upon  bodily  well-being. 

Speaking  broadly,  the  physical  effect  of  the 
work  is  undoubtedly  bad,  though  not  all  are 
affected  unfavorably.  Many  of  the  children 
employed  are  sturdy  and  strong  and  one  may 
find  many  men  and  women  of  good  physique 
who  have  worked  in  the  mills  from  childhood. 
Apparently  neither  the  confinement  nor  the 
noise  and  tension  have  affected  them  un- 
favorably. Their  lungs  have  not  been  affected 
by  the  hnt,  and  they  have  vitality  enough  to 
overcome  the  disadvantages  of  their  employ- 
ment. The  pitiful  stories  told  by  "two  ladies" 
who  became  ''factory  girls"  for  a  few  weeks 


228   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

have  little  real  foundation.  They  sought  sen- 
sation rather  than  truth,  and  found  it/ 

Compared  with  some  other  forms  of  child 
labor,  the  conditions  in  the  cotton  mill  are 
not  unreservedly  bad.  The  work  is  probably 
less  exhausting  than  that  of  a  cash  boy  or  girl 
in  a  busy  department  store,  where  the  air  is 
almost  invariably  worse  than  in  a  mill.  The 
newsboys  in  the  street  suffer  more  physically 
and  morally.^  The  children  employed  in  glass 
factories  and  coal  mines  have  work  that  is 
more  injurious  in  every  respect. 

But  nevertheless  the  confinement  for  the 
long  hours,  combined  with  improperly  chosen 
and  badly  prepared  food,  is  enough  to  stunt  the 
growth  and  lessen  the  vitahty  of  a  great  num- 
ber. This  is  particularly  true  of  night  workers. 
Refreshing  sleep  during  the  daylight  is  difficult 
amid  the  noises  of  the  factory  village,  and  some- 
times the  children  who  finish  their  tasks  at  six  in 

»  Van  Vorst,  "The  Woman  Who  Toils"  (1903). 
*  "The  Street :  Its  Child  Workers,"  University  Settlement 
Society,  New  York. 


THE    CHILD   IN  THE   MILL  229 

the  morning  are  up  again  when  the  day  workers 
return  for  their  dinners  at  twelve.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  children  sometimes  fall  asleep 
over  their  tasks,  and  that  the  work  is  poorly- 
done.  Yet  a  majority  of  the  children,  perhaps, 
prefer  the  night  shift  on  account  of  the  few 
hours  gained  for  play  in  the  afternoon. 

The  disadvantages  of  night  work  are  recog- 
nized as  many  and  serious,  and  the  amount  is 
decreasing.  One  manufacturer  writes,  ''Nei- 
ther evil  (child  labor  nor  ilhteracy),  nor  both 
together,  is  half  so  great  as  night  work  for 
women  and  children."  Another  says,  ''Night 
work  hurts  worse  morally  than  it  does  physic- 
ally, and  every  sane  man  knows  what  a  strain 
on  the  system  night  work  is."  Unfortunately 
the  departments  commonly  operated  at  night 
are  those  in  which  children  are  extensively 
employed. 

The  mental  effects  are  both  positive  and 
negative.  Probably  the  monotonous  routine 
introduced  so  early  into  their  lives  has  a  tend- 
ency to  hinder  mental  development,  though 


230      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

teachers  differ  upon  this  point.  Some  declare 
that  children  who  have  worked  in  the  mill 
are  more  eager  to  utihze  their  opportunities 
and  accomplish  more  than  other  children. 
Others  find  them  difficult  to  teach.  Probably 
the  difference  depends  somewhat  upon  the 
length  of  time  spent  in  the  mill  before  entering 
school.  Certainly  the  power  of  initiative  is 
lessened. 

The  greater  injury  is  the  deprivation  of 
educational  opportunities.  A  child  who  goes 
into  the  mill  is  too  often  a  fixture.  If  illiterate 
when  he  enters,  too  often  he  remains  ilhterate. 
If  he  has  only  the  rudiments  of  an  education, 
the  long  hours  give  him  little  opportunity  to 
extend  his  knowledge,  and  instances  where 
a  child  has  forgotten  how  to  read  are  not 
unknown. 

In  the  country  the  children  might  attend  the 
short  sessions  of  the  pubhc  schools  which  were 
taught  when  farm  work  was  slack.  The  mills 
run  continuously,  school  attendance  means 
the  loss  of  wages,  and  some  ignorant  parents 


THE    CHILD   IN  THE    MILL  231 

see  no  compensating  advantage.  Of  the  98 
children  reported  by  Miss  Sewall,  12  had  not 
attended  school  before  entering  the  mill,  64  had 
not  attended  afterward,  and  8  had  not  attended 
at  all.  A  thriving  manufacturing  town  which 
has  excellent  school  buildings  and  schools  re- 
ported an  enrollment  in  the  public  schools  of 
35  per  cent,  of  the  population  between  6  and 
21.  The  enrollment  for  the  county,  excluding 
the  town,  was  67  per  cent.  However,  this 
comparison  is  not  absolutely  fair  to  the  town, 
as  it  contains  several  private  schools  for  both 
white  and  colored,  the  enrollment  of  which 
was  not  counted.  The  percentage  in  board- 
ing schools  was  also  larger  in  the  town  than 
in  the  country.  But  the  addition  of  these 
students  would  still  leave  the  proportionate 
attendance  in  the  town  lower  than  in  the  rural 
districts. 

The  moral  effects  of  the  work  depend  some- 
what upon  the  mill.  Generally  the  manager 
strives  to  keep  out  evil  influences.  Profane 
and  immoral  overseers  are  seldom  tolerated, 


232      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

and  immorality  among  the  operatives  is  not 
countenanced.  One  observer  says:  ''The 
moral  atmosphere  of  a  mill  settlement  is  much 
purer  than  I  have  ever  seen  it  in  the  North. 
People  with  bad  habits  or  inclined  to  lead  dis- 
orderly lives  are  not  tolerated."  ^  Many  in- 
stances of  this  policy  have  come  under  my  own 
observation.  But  when  all  possible  has  been 
done,  the  children  see  and  hear  many  things 
which  do  harm.  On  the  other  hand,  the  dis- 
cipline of  work  teaches  them  lessons  of  obe- 
dience, carefulness,  and  self-restraint. 

Nor  does  the  work  entirely  destroy  the  spring 
and  elasticity  of  childhood.  Many  hate  the 
work,  of  course,  but  the  general  attitude  of 
the  children  is  not  one  of  rebellion.  On  the 
farms  the  children  worked,  and  they  accept 
their  occupation  as  a  matter  of  course.  They 
take  pride  in  being  wage  earners  and  treasure 
a  word  of  approval  from  an  overseer  or  super- 
intendent. Their  ambition  is  to  be  transferred 
to  the  looms,  where  they  make  larger  wages. 

^  Dr.  James  C.  Bayles,  in  New  York  Times,  June  2,  1901. 


THE   CHILD   IN  THE   MILL  233 

Many  prefer  the  mill  to  the  school,  and  will 
attend  only  under  compulsion.  When  the 
child  has  been  contributing  to  the  family  sup- 
port, and  is  certain  of  employment  at  will, 
such  compulsion  is  with  difficulty  applied  by 
the  parents. 

On  this  subject,  perhaps  the  testimony  of 
the  late  Dr.  Charles  B.  Spahr  is  again  worth 
quoting.  Speaking  of  children  at  work  he 
said,  ''They  went  about  their  work  with  so 
much  spring  and  seemed  to  have  so  much  spirit 
in  it  all  and  after  it  all,  that  I  was  completely 
nonplussed."  ^  Experiences  of  my  own  with 
mischievous  doffers  confirm  the  statement. 

How  do  parents  justify  sending  their  chil- 
dren to  such  employment  ?  As  mentioned  in  a 
previous  chapter,  the  migrants  from  the  farm 
are  made  up  of  five  classes:  (1)  the  honest 
man  seeking  to  better  the  condition  of  the 
family;  (2)  the  incapable  or  shiftless;  (3)  the 
disabled;  (4)  the  lazy;  (5)  the  widow.  Each 
class  must  be  treated  separately. 

»  "America's  Working  People"  (1900). 


234     FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

A  man  of  the  first  class  reasons  that  the  re- 
wards of  the  family  labor  on  the  farm  are  low 
at  best,  and  always  exceedingly  variable,  since 
floods,  droughts,  or  other  causes  may  destroy 
all  hope  of  profits.  At  the  mill,  work  is  per- 
manent and  definite  wages  are  paid  in  cash. 
Instances  of  $20  to  $30  dollars  a  week  earned 
by  a  single  family  seem  unhmited  wealth, 
since  he  seldom  considers  the  value  of  pro- 
visions consumed  upon  the  farm  when  compar- 
ing his  lot  with  that  of  the  factory  family. 

His  children  work  with  him  on  the  farm, 
hoeing  or  plowing  during  the  long,  hot  summer 
days ;  they  pick  cotton  or  haul  wood  when  the 
frost  bites  the  fingers.  He  thinks  that  it  will 
be  easier  for  them  to  work  indoors.  Then,  too, 
the  pubhc  school  in  the  country  is  open  barely 
four  months  in  the  year,  and  it  is  often  two  or 
three  miles  from  his  home.  In  the  factory 
towns  the  schools  are  good  and  the  term  ranges 
from  six  to  nine  months,  since  the  school  fund 
is  almost  invariably  supplemented  by  the  cor- 
poration when  necessary  to  produce  this  result. 


THE    CHILD    IN  THE   MILL  235 

He  does  not  intend  to  exploit  his  children. 
He  intends  to  work  himself  and,  when  the  fam- 
ily goes  to  the  mill,  seeks  employment.  After 
forty  years  or  more  spent  upon  the  farm,  how- 
ever, his  roughened  fingers  can  seldom  be 
trained  to  do  work  requiring  dexterity,  and  the 
number  of  common  laborers  required  is  limited. 
Perhaps  he  secures  employment  as  teamster 
or  truckman  for  the  mill,  or  a  position  else- 
where in  the  town  is  found.  In  many  cases 
the  cotton  mill  is  the  only  industrial  enterprise 
in  the  vicinity,  and  there  are  few  openings 
which  afford  steady  employment.  Meanwhile 
his  older  children  are  earning  more  than  he  can 
command. 

Other  men  around  him  are  not  working,  and 
too  often  the  unemployed  periods  grow  longer. 
Famiharity  with  the  idea  of  being  supported  by 
his  children  blunts  his  sensibiHties.  He  salves 
his  conscience,  perhaps,  by  cultivating  a  gar- 
den, chopping  the  wood,  and  doing  the  chores. 
Sometimes  he  secures  the  agency  for  some 
patented  article,  but  he  seldom  possesses  the 


236     FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

qualities  necessary  for  a  successful  agent,  and 
this  occupation  often  serves  only  as  his  excuse 
for  his  lack  of  steady  employment;  or  else  he 
discovers  some  ailment  to  excuse  his  idleness. 
The  result,  of  course,  is  moral  deterioration. 

Meanwhile  he  finds  that  though  the  family 
income  has  increased,  expenses  have  increased 
also,  compared  with  the  farm.  Numerous  new 
wants  have  become  a  part  of  the  standard 
of  life.  Sickness  with  its  attendant  expenses 
may  come  to  a  child,  causing  loss  of  wages  as 
well.  Perhaps  the  older  children  marry  and 
their  wages  are  no  longer  a  part  of  the  family 
income.  The  education  of  the  others  may  be 
postponed  from  year  to  year,  until  sometimes 
they  feel  ashamed  to  enter  the  primary  grades 
and  refuse  to  attend  if  the  long-delayed  oppor- 
tunity finally  comes. 

The  history  of  the  man  of  the  second  class, 
the  incapable  or  shiftless,  is  similar,  except 
that  he  more  rarely  finds  permanent  employ- 
ment, and  sooner  becomes  content  to  be  a  drone. 
He  may  be  a  man  of  the  best  intentions,  obeying 


THE    CHILD   IN  THE   MILL  237 

the  moral  law  as  he  understands  it,  and  faith- 
ful in  religious  observances,  but  his  will  power 
is  not  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  resist  the  in- 
fluence of  his  surroundings.  * 

If  a  strong  man  has  difficulty  in  securing  em- 
ployment, much  harder  is  the  lot  of  those  par- 
tially disabled  by  old  age,  exposure,  or  disease. 
The  managers  often  make  places  for  them  as 
sweepers  or  messengers,  of  course  at  low  wages. 
Oftener  they  busy  themselves  with  trifles  out- 
side and  gradually  cease  to  do  even  that  work 
for  which  they  are  fit. 

The  fourth  class,  the  lazy,  deliberately 
Hving  fives  of  ease  from  the  labor  of  their 
children,  is  small  at  first  but  constantly  re- 
ceives accessions  from  the  divisions  already 
named.  These  men  loaf  about  the  stores  or 
the  blacksmith  shops,  discussing  politics  and 
gossiping.  Some  do  not  work  at  all,  even  pay- 
ing for  blacking  their  shoes  from  their  children's 
wages.  Some  have  a  pretended  ailment  as  an 
excuse;  others  frankly  say  that  they  worked 
to  bring  up  their  children  during  their  early 


238     FROM    COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

years,  and  now  they  expect  the  children  to 
support  them. 

Though  some  of  these  men  are,  m  a  way, 
kind  fathers,  necessarily  their  interest  in  their 
children  becomes  mercenary.  They  speak  of 
their  children  as  property.  ^'She  was  the  best 
spinner  I  had,"  is  an  expression  not  unknown. 
In  sickness  their  chief  concern  seems  the  loss 
of  wages.  Such  fathers  oppose  labor  legis- 
lation, and  oppose  also  the  marriage  of  their 
more  skilled  daughters.  Runaway  marriages 
often  result,  as  the  country  girls  coming  to  the 
mill  after  the  age  of  sixteen  usually  do  marry. 

The  mill  managers  may  declare  that  they 
will  not  have  such  men  about  the  mill,  and  may 
compel  them  to  undertake  some  work.  Often 
the  unwilling  workers  make  themselves  so  in- 
efficient that  they  are  necessarily  discharged. 
Good  operatives  are  not  too  plentiful,  and  if 
the  family  is  sent  away,  the  vacant  places  may 
be  filled  with  some  difficulty. 

The  legislature  of  1905  passed  a  vagrant 
act  aimed  at  these  able-bodied  vampire  fathers 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE   MILL  239 

living  upon  the  earnings  of  minor  children,  but 
provided  no  adequate  means  for  its  enforce- 
ment. The  problem  is  one  of  the  transition 
period.  The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  indus- 
try cannot  continue.  Fewer  whole  families 
will  be  brought  from  the  farms,  as  a  mill  popu- 
lation develops.  The  boy  trained  in  the  mill 
accepts  the  mill  work  as  a  matter  of  course 
when  he  becomes  a  man,  and  will  be  able  to 
earn  much  more  than  his  farmer  father  suddenly 
taken  out  of  his  environment. 

The  following  quotation  from  an  English 
source  is  applicable  here:  "Kind-hearted  peo- 
ple, too,  may  follow  a  course  of  conduct 
with  their  own  offspring  which  appears  mon- 
strous to  a  stranger.  In  certain  districts  where 
child  labor  is  a  tradition  and  a  custom,  the 
very  idea  of  associating  it  with  inhumanity 
does  not  occur  to  the  people."  * 

It  is  true  in  North  Carolina.  Men  who  would 
resent  the  charge  that  they  are  cruel  or  un- 
natural parents,  press  their  children  into  the 

^  "Dangerous  Trades,"  New  York  and  London  (1902). 


240      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

mills  often  against  the  desires  of  the  authori- 
ties. Long  before  the  passage  of  the  act  es- 
tabhshing  the  age  limit  at  twelve,  many  mills 
had  already  voluntarily  established  that  rule, 
but  the  pressure  against  it  was  steady.  A 
father  would  declare  that  the  family  must 
have  the  additional  income  from  the  labor  of 
a  child,  and  threaten  to  move  elsewhere  if 
the  child  were  not  admitted. 

The  fifth  class,  the  widows,  exists,  though 
undoubtedly  the  number  dependent  upon  the 
labor  of  very  young  children  is  not  so  great  as 
the  opponents  of  restrictive  legislation  claim. 
The  lot  of  such  a  woman  is  hard.  She  toils, 
cooking,  sewing,  scrubbing,  during  the  day  and 
sometimes  may  he  awake  at  night  thinking  of 
her  child  at  work.  There  seems  no  solution, 
except  to  call  upon  charity  if  the  children  are 
debarred.^ 

The  attitude  of  the  employers  of  child  labor 
is  not  uniform.    Some  reaHze  the  social  re- 

^  Compare  Professor  P,  H.  Giddings,  Address  before  Na- 
tional Educational  Association,  July,  1905. 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE    MILL  241 

sponsibility,  endeavor  to  keep  the  numbers 
as  small  as  possible,  and  encourage  school 
attendance.  Others  consider  these  matters  to 
belong  primarily  to  the  parents.  The  educa- 
tional advantages  of  some  employers  were 
limited.  They  worked  themselves  as  children, 
are  proud  of  their  mills,  and  really  believe  a 
child  is  better  off  in  a  mill  than  idle  upon  the 
street.  The  employers  generally  claim  that  the 
labor  of  young  children  is  wasteful  and  un- 
economical, and  that  they  are  employed  only 
because  of  the  demand  or  necessity  of  the 
parent,  and  to  keep  them  out  of  mischief. 

The  following  extract  from  a  frank  letter 
is  the  expression  of  a  man  who  worked  his  way 
to  the  position  of  manager  and  part-owner  of  a 
small  mill :  — 

"...  Now  as  to  prohibiting  working  under  four- 
teen years  of  age,  I  think  such  a  law  would  be  very- 
unjust  and  would  break  up  many  widowed  families. 
My  father  died,  leaving  my  mother  with  eight  chil- 
dren from  four  to  sixteen  years  old.  We  were  poor 
people  and  had  it  not  been  that  we  worked  in  a  cot- 
ton mill  my  mother  would  have  had  to  divide  her 


242      FROM    COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

children  and  we  would  not  have  had  the  privilege  of 
living  with  our  mother  and  had  a  mother's  care  over 
us.  As  it  was,  we,  or  six  of  us,  worked  daily  in  the 
factory,  and  although  it  has  been  fifty-four  years  ago 
I  am  truly  thankful  there  was  such  a  place  for  us; 
for  we  made  a  living,  owed  nobody  anything,  and  all 
grew  up  having  a  mother  to  watch  over  us,  and  al- 
though none  of  us  ever  amounted  to  much,  we  have 
never  been  considered  bad  people.  Now  to  my  knowl- 
edge there  are  many  who  were  left  like  my  mother 
was,  and  for  our  state  to  say  to  such  '  Your  children 
shall  not  work  to  make  a  living,'  but  have  them  put 
out,  one  here  and  another  there,  I  have  no  language 
to  tell  you  what  I  think  of  people  who  would  try  to 
control  such  things.  .  .  .  Now  as  to  eleven  hours 
a  day.  I  don't  think  there  should  be  a  law  to  that 
effect.  I  favor  it  myself,  but  I  do  not  know  another's 
necessities,  and  I  should  not  prevent  him  using  his 
own  judgment  in  making  a  living.  Some  can  afford 
not  to  work  at  all,  yet  others  cannot.  The  same 
commandment  which  says  we  must  work  six  days, 
says  we  must  rest  the  seventh.  Now  I  don't  know 
which  is  the  greater  sin,  to  be  idle  the  six  days  or 
to  work  the  seventh.  Then  if  our  law  makers  tell  a 
part  of  us  that  we  shall  only  work  so  much,  I  think 
they  should  say  to  the  other  parts  that  they  shall 
work  so  much." 

Another     manufacturer,    who     has     aided 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE    MILL  243 

churches  and  schools,  estabhshed  a  Hbrary, 
and  done  much  for  the  improvement  of  his 
operatives,  wrote  thus  of  the  difficulty  of  ex- 
cluding children,  before  the  enactment  of  the 
labor  law :  — 

"  We  do  not  want  to  work  children  under  twelve 
years  of  age,  —  resist  it  all  we  can,  —  but  when  a 
mother  brings  an  eleven-year-old  boy  to  us,  and  pleads 
that  school  is  over  for  the  year,  and  she  cannot  look 
after  her  boy,  that  he  roams  the  street  contrary  to 
her  wishes,  goes  to  the  river  with  other  boys,  and  she 
cannot  keep  up  with  him,  and  he  wants  to  work  in 
the  mill,  and  she  begs  us  to  take  him  in  as  he  is  better 
ofE  under  control  than  out  of  it,  what  are  we  to 
do?  The  mother  asked  no  wages  for  the  boy  but 
only  wanted  him  where  he  could  learn  to  work ;  we 
took  the  boy  and  he  is  earning  fair  wages." 

The  employers  further  claim,  that  since  the 
rate  per  machine,  or  per  unit  of  product,  is  the 
same  regardless  of  the  age  of  the  operative,  any 
charge  of  exploitation  of  children  is  unjust. 
It  is  true  that  the  differences  in  individual 
wages  in  the  same  department  are  simply 
differences  of  skill,  but  the  fact  that  the  rate 


244      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

would  probably  rise  with  a  curtailment  of  the 
labor  supply  is  neglected. 

The  charge  so  often  made,  that  the  managers 
are  tyrants  who  grind  the  helpless,  cannot  be 
sustained.  They  pay  the  market  rate  of  wages, 
which  is  larger  than  the  rate  in  agriculture, 
and  the  rate  is  steadily  rising.  They  show  in 
addition  much  personal  interest  in  individuals 
and  do  many  acts  of  kindness.  Moreover, 
acts  of  cruelty  would  be  injurious  to  the  mills, 
as  the  neighboring  mills  will  gladly  advance 
transportation  for  a  family  of  good  operatives. 
The  employers  are  not  primarily  to  blame  for 
the  evils  of  child  labor.  Such  labor  is  simply 
a  stage  in  the  development  of  an  industrial 
society.  The  great  numbers  of  families  coming 
from  the  farms  are  the  raw  material  out  of 
which  a  skilled  labor  force  is  to  be  developed. 
Necessarily  there  are  difficulties  in  adjustment. 

The  phenomenon  is  always  present  in  an  in- 
dustrial transition.  Hours  were  longer  and 
conditions  harder  in  England,  in  the  same 
stage  of  industrial  development.    In  New  Eng- 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE   MILL  245 

land,  also,  hours  were  longer.  Mrs.  Harriet  H. 
Robinson,  who  went  to  work  at  Lowell  when 
ten  years  of  age  for  $2  a  week,  says:  ''The 
working  hours  of  all  the  girls  extended  from 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  seven  at  night, 
with  one  half  hour  for  breakfast  and  for  dinner. 
Even  the  doffers  were  forced  to  be  on  duty 
nearly  fourteen  hours  a  day.  ...  I  do  not 
know  why  I  did  not  think  ...  of  my  work  in 
the  mill  as  drudgery.  Perhaps  it  was  because 
I  expected  to  do  my  part  towards  helping  my 
mother  to  get  our  living  and  had  never  heard 
her  complain  of  the  hardships  of  her  Hfe."  ^ 

Wonder  has  been  often  expressed  that  pub- 
lic opinion  does  not  force  the  enactment  of 
stringent  labor  legislation.  So  far  there  has 
been  httle  attempt  to  organize  this  force.  The 
growth  of  the  industry  has  come  too  quickly. 
Regulation  of  farm  work  would  seem  absurd, 
and  the  realization  of  the  difference  between 
the  work  in  the  factory  and  on  the  farm  comes 
slowly.    Further,  interference  with  the  affairs 

1  Robinson,  "Loom  and  Spindle"  (1898). 


246   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

of  others  is  not  yet  popular,  and  anything 
smacking  of  class  legislation  meets  with  Httle 
favor,  on  general  principles.  The  following 
expression  of  a  farmer  is  tj'pical  of  the  attitude 
of  mind  of  a  large  number,  '^I  think  that  the 
less  the  state  tends  to  supplant  the  family,  the 
better."  The  agitation  by  outsiders  has  done 
more  harm  than  good.  The  exaggerations  have 
discounted  the  force  of  the  whole  argument, 
and  have  caused  resentment  of  interference  as 
well. 

The  beginning  was  made  by  the  legislature 
of  1903,  which  passed  the  present  act.  It  pro- 
vides for  a  maximum  week  of  sixty-six  hours, 
and  a  minimum  age  of  twelve.  The  parent 
must  give  a  written  statement  of  the  ages  of  his 
children,  and  a  false  representation  is  punish- 
able as  a  misdemeanor.  The  employer  who 
knowingly  employs  a  child  under  twelve  is  also 
Hable  to  punishment.  A  stricter  bill  providing 
for  raising  the  minimum  age  for  girls  and 
ilhterate  boys  to  fourteen,  and  absolutely  for- 
bidding night  work  by  children,  was  defeated 


THE    CHILD   IN   THE    MILL  247 

in  1905;  but  its  passage  will  be  urged  again 
before  the  legislature  of  1907. 

Though  the  act  of  1903  provided  no  system 
of  inspection  it  has  been  generally  obeyed,  and 
the  mill  managers  as  a  whole  approve.  Some, 
however,  take  the  ground  that  their  business 
is  no  more  a  proper  matter  for  regulation  than 
the  farm  or  the  sawmill.  The  operation  of 
the  law  has  sent  many  children  into  the  schools, 
though  not  to  the  extent  expected. 

Agitation  for  compulsory  school  attendance 
is  now  in  progress  in  connection  with  the  move- 
ment for  the  increase  of  facihties  for  popular 
education.  The  great  burden  of  illiteracy  is 
leading  many  men  to  revise  their  belief  regard- 
ing the  proper  hmits  of  state  interference  with 
individual  Hberty.  Organizations  of  women 
are  beginning  to  advocate  stricter  laws  for 
the  protection  of  the  children.  A  state  Child 
Labor  Committee  has  been  organized  (1906), 
and  the  creation  of  sentiment  for  stricter  regu- 
lations will  be  attempted.  Further  legislation 
may  be  expected  before  many  years. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  NEGRO  AS  A  COMPETITOR 

Speaking  broadly,  in  the  South  the  right  of 
the  negro  to  earn  a  hving  by  any  sort  of  manual 
or  mechanical  labor  has  been  recognized  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Certain  trades,  as  that  of 
barber,  have  been  almost  monopolized  by  him. 
Contrary  to  conditions  in  the  North,  negro  car- 
penters, bricklayers,  plasterers,  and  plumbers 
work  beside  whites  without  question.  On  the 
farms,  negroes  and  whites  work  together  at  all 
stages  of  the  crops.  Both  are  engaged  in 
clearing  forests  and  preparing  wood  or  lumber 
for  market.  One  wagon  may  be  driven  by  a 
negro  and  another  by  a  white.  A  white  cob- 
bler may  share  a  shop  with  a  negro.  White 
men  work  with  negroes  in  the  tobacco  factories, 
though  usually  in  different  processes. 

But  while  public  opinion  accepts  all  this, 

248 


THE    NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  249 

the  working  of  negroes,  particularly  negro  men, 
beside  white  women  within  walls  would  not 
be  tolerated.  Leaving  any  color  prejudice  out 
of  consideration,  the  experience  of  the  South 
with  the  '^unspeakable  crime"  has  been  bitter. 
No  association  which  might  permit  the  possi- 
ble lessening  of  the  negro's  deference  toward 
white  women  would  be  allowed.  It  is  a  fixed 
behef,  not  susceptible  to  argument,  that  daily 
contact  and  association  in  the  same  work, 
under  the  same  conditions,  might  tend  to  make 
the  negro  bolder  and  less  respectful.  For  this 
reason  the  only  negroes  employed  directly  in 
the  Southern  textile  industry  are  a  few  outside 
the  mill  proper,  serving  as  laborers,  draymen, 
firemen ;  and  a  smaller  number  engaged  in  some 
of  the  preparatory  processes. 

Heretofore  the  supply  of  white  labor  has  been 
so  abundant  and  so  cheap  that  the  adapta- 
bility of  the  negro  to  textile  work  has  been  a 
question  chiefly  of  academic  interest.  A  few 
farsighted  mill  men  have  realized  that  this 
supply  of  native  white  labor  is  not  inexhaust- 


250      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

ible;  but  to  test  the  capability  of  the  negro 
would  be  an  uncertain  experiment  which  might 
cause  the  loss  of  time  and  capital,  and  even  if 
successful  seemed  hardly  worth  the  trouble 
and  risk  for  the  present.  Some  friends  of  the 
negro  have  hoped  for  the  trial  under  favorable 
circumstances,  as  a  means  of  discipline  and 
development,  but  this  interest  has  not  been 
widespread.  The  general  opinion  expressed 
when  the  subject  has  been  mentioned  has  been 
one  of  disbehef  in  its  practicabihty,  in  spite  of 
certain  facts  more  or  less  well  known. 

While  the  industry  was  in  the  domestic  stage, 
negro  women  on  the  large  plantations  spun  yam 
and  wove  cloth  for  plantation  uses.  Some  of 
this  work  was  well  done,  but  no  estimate  of 
the  number  employed,  nor  of  the  value  of  the 
product,  can  now  be  made.  Before  the  Civil 
War  slave  labor  was  employed  in  a  few  small 
cotton  mills.  The  Rocky  Mount  Mill  in  Edge- 
combe County,  North  CaroHna,  employed  ne- 
groes from  1820  to  1851.  The  following  is  taken 
from  a  private  letter  from  the  manager :  — 


THE    NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  251 

"  I  took  charge  of  the  Rocky  Mount  mill  in  Nov. 
1849.  We  worked  at  that  time  only  negroes  — 
nearly  all  of  them  slaves.  There  were  2  or  3  old  issue 
free  negroes.  I  introduced  white  labor  in  1851.  The 
whites  seemed  to  think  it  humiliating  to  work  in  a 
cotton  mill  and  I  had  much  difficulty  in  getting  them 
to  go  in.  The  mill  was  still  making  coarse  yarns,  4's 
to  12's,  put  up  in  five  pound  bundles  for  the  country 
trade  —  this  was  woven  by  country  women  on  hand 
looms.  When  I  could  not  sell  the  full  product  to  the 
country  merchants,  the  surplus  was  put  in  coarse  filling 
for  the  Philadelphia  market.  I  found  the  negroes  to 
do  pretty  well  on  these  coarse  products,  but  the  owners 
of  the  slaves  began  to  object  to  their  working  in  the 
mill  and  I  substituted  whites  as  soon  as  I  could,  and 
kept  the  mill  going  imtil  destroyed  by  Federals  m 
July,  1863." 

Recently  a  few  attempts  to  conduct  mills 
entirely  with  negro  labor  have  been  made. 
The  attempt  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
was  not  successful,  but  the  mill  had  previously 
failed  with  white  labor.  The  old  machinery 
was  replaced  by  new  and  the  mill  was  expected 
to  pay  dividends  on  this  increased  capitaliza- 
tion. The  manager,  Major  J.  H.  Montgomery, 
was  reported  as  attributing  the  failure  prin- 


252      FROM   COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

cipally  to  the  location.  In  Charleston  the  bare 
necessities  of  subsistence  are  easily  procured. 
Fish,  oysterS;  vegetables,  are  cheap,  the  cli- 
mate is  mild,  and  httle  fuel  and  clothing  give 
comfort.  The  usual  attractions  of  the  city 
were  serious  obstacles.  Anything  in  the  way 
of  a  pageant  is  exceedingly  attractive  to  the 
negro,  and  it  was  difficult  for  these  reasons  to 
secure  regular  attendance.  The  manager  ex- 
pressed the  belief  that  the  experiment  would 
have  succeeded  if  it  had  been  located  in  the 
country,  away  from  the  distractions  of  the 
town,  where  the  operatives  might  have  been 
better  controlled, .  through  Hving  in  factory 
tenements. 

The  Ashley  and  Bailey  Company,  silk  manu- 
facturers of  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  have  estab- 
lished small  silk  mills  at  Fayetteville,  North 
Carolina.  The  manager  is  a  negro  preacher, 
who  has  carefully  selected  his  help  by  indi- 
viduals and  not  by  famihes.  Before  a  youth  is 
employed  his  parents  must  give  the  manager 
written  permission  to  inflict  corporal  punish- 


THE   NEGRO   AS  A   COMPETITOR  253 

ment  if  it  is  deemed  necessary.  Occasionally 
this  permission  is  utilized,  but  the  possession 
of  the  power  has  generally  prevented  the  neces- 
sity of  its  exercise.  The  results  of  operation 
are  said  to  be  satisfactory,  though  the  experi- 
ment has  not  yet  gone  far  enough  for  a  verdict, 
and  the  management  refuses  to  give  any  infor- 
mation whatever  upon  the  subject. 

Another  interesting  experiment  took  place 
at  Concord,  North  Carolina,  a  center  of  the 
Southern  cotton  mill  industry.  This  was  a 
cotton  mill,  not  only  operated,  but  owned  and 
managed,  by  negroes.  The  moving  spirit  was 
a  mulatto,  Warren  Coleman,,  who  had  an  un- 
usual career.  He  was  born  a  slave  and  his 
reputed  father  was  a  white  man,  afterward  dis- 
tinguished by  military  and  financial  ability, 
who  is  said  to  have  assisted  the  boy.  Just 
after  the  Civil  War,  Coleman  opened  a  little 
store,  and  succeeded  through  trading  ability, 
industry,  and  econom^y.  With  his  profits  he 
began  to  buy  cheap  land  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  town  and  erect  cabins  for  negro  tenants. 


254      FROM  COTTON   FIELD   TO   COTTON   MILL 

A  house  and  lot  costing  from  $125  to  $300 
could  be  rented  for  50  cents  to  $1.25  a  week. 
He  built  other  houses  with  his  rents,  and  at  one 
time  owned  nearly  100.  Valuable  business  sites 
were  acquired,  but  these  were  not  improved, 
as  he  hesitated  to  invest  a  large  amount  in  a 
single  venture.  In  1900  his  property  was 
supposed  to  exceed  $50,000. 

Coleman  conceived  the  idea  that  a  cotton 
mill  could  be  managed  and  operated  by  negroes, 
and  began  to  agitate  the  matter.  His  motive 
was  complex.  The  other  mills  in  the  town 
were  almost  phenomenally  successful;  his  own 
past  success  as  a  financier  had  made  him  ambi- 
tious to  be  recognized  as  a  factor  in  a  broader 
field.  Further,  his  race  consciousness  was  strong 
and  he  desired  to  be  considered  the  negro  Moses, 
and  to  receive  the  applause  gained  by  opening 
a  new  field  of  activity  to  his  people. 

The  project  was  received  with  enthusiasm 
and  every  influence  in  the  race  was  enlisted. 
Ministers  recommended  the  enterprise  from 
their  pulpits;  mass  meetings  making  a  strong 


THE   NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  255 

appeal  to  race  consciousness  were  held  over  the 
whole  South,  while  the  negro  newspapers  urged 
subscriptions  as  a  duty  to  the  race.  The  follow- 
ing extracts  from  negro  papers  will  show  the 
tone  of  race  comment:  — 

"We  know  him  personally,  honest,  enterprising, 
filled  to  overflowing  with  devotion  to  every  move- 
ment wherein  the  negro's  interest  is  fostered  and  pro- 
moted. He  knows  no  failure.  We  know  many  other 
enterprises  already  fixed  by  Hon.  W.  C.  Coleman, 
that  are  living  monuments  of  glory  to  race  as  well  as 
paying  institutions. " 

—  Search  Light  (Austin,  Tex.),  July  11,  1896. 

"The  greatness  of  the  man  appears  particularly  in 
the  way  he  makes  obstacles  and  difficulties,  help 
and  not  hindrances.  W.  C.  Coleman  will  rank  with 
Abraham  Lincoln  as  their  practical  friend  and  bene- 
factor. One  gave  them  freedom,  the  other  will  give 
them  an  industrial  position." 

—  Southern  Age  (Atlanta,  Ga.),  Feb.  6,  1897. 

"Let  all  colored  men  who  have  money  to  invest  and 
race  pride  about  them  take  stock  in  the  mill." 

—  Piedmont  Indicator  (Spartanburg,  S.  C), 
Dec.  12,  1896. 


256      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

About  $50,000  was  subscribed,  and  the  com- 
pany was  organized  in  1897,  with  Coleman  as 
Secretary  and  Treasurer.  However,  whether 
from  jealousy  or  distrust  few  subscriptions 
were  made  by  negroes  living  in  Concord  or  the 
immediate  vicinity/  Encouraged  by  the  ready 
response,  the  capital  stock  was  increased  to 
$100,000,  and  subscriptions  were  sought  from 
whites  also.  Those  who  responded  were  mill 
men,  who  were  willing  to  risk  a  few  dollars  on 
the  trial  of  the  experiment,  and  a  few  philan- 
thropists. A  desirable  tract  of  land  was  secured 
on  the  edge  of  the  town,  remote  from  the  other 
mills,  and  building  was  begun. 

When  the  collection  of  the  subscriptions  of 
the  negroes  began,  difficulty  ensued.  It  was 
found  that  laborers,  washerwomen,  etc.,  car- 
ried away  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment, 
had  subscribed  amounts,  the .  installments  on 
which  were  as  great  as  their  total  wages.  Negro 
laborers  and  artisans  had  taken  stock  to  be 

'Testimony  of  J.  P.  Blackwell,  bookkeeper,  before  the 
Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  VIII. 


THE  NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  257 

paid  in  work  on  the  buildings,  but  after  a  week 
or  two,  a  certificate  of  stock  in  the  future 
seemed  less  desirable  than  present  cash  pay- 
ments, and  the  number  of  workers  grew  smaller. 
Much  of  this  forfeited  stock  fell  into  Coleman's 
hands. 

The  work  of  construction  dragged  along  and 
the  building  was  not  completed  until  1901. 
Installments  had  been  paid  regularly  on  only  a 
small  part  of  the  stock,  and  Coleman's  holdings 
reached  $12,000.  Finally  the  building  was 
finished,  a  few  tenement  houses  were  con- 
structed, the  railroad  built  a  side  track,  and 
a  mortgage  was  given  for  the  equipment. 
Unfortunately  Coleman,  who  had  entire  charge, 
seduced  by  apparent  cheapness,  put  in  second- 
hand English  machinery,  and  the  mill  was  handi- 
capped from  the  beginning.  A  white  super- 
intendent from  Easthampton,  Massachusetts, 
was  engaged,  and  operation  was  begun. 

The  time  was  unpropitious.  The  yam  mar- 
ket had  not  recovered  from  a  period  of  demor- 
ahzation,  when   many  established   mills  with 


258   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

white  operatives  had  run  with  a  greatly  re- 
duced profit  or  with  no  profit  at  all.  Operatives 
were  to  be  made  of  individuals  entirely  un- 
skilled and  unused  to  any  sort  of  regular  me- 
chanical work.  The  negro  population  of  the 
town  and  surrounding  country,  however,  was 
comparatively  intelhgent.  The  pubhc  schools 
were  fairly  efficient,  and  two  schools  maintained 
by  Northern  philanthropy  had  existed  for 
years.  Further,  the  negroes  had  been  brought 
into  close  relations  with  the  whites  and  had 
gained  much  from  this  contact. 

The  mill,  nevertheless,  did  not  pay,  though 
the  profit  in  yams  grew  larger,  and,  in  fact,  did 
not  run  with  any  degree  of  regularity.  A  visit 
in  1902  found  it  shut  down,  —  temporarily, 
the  manager  said,  —  but  in  reafity  little  work 
had  been  done  for  weeks.  The  superintendent 
was  absent;  but  his  wife,  who  had  practical 
knowledge  of  the  business,  assured  me  that  the 
work  was  going  on  well,  and  that  very  skillful 
operatives  were  being  produced.  The  opera- 
tives were  regular  and  learned  very  rapidly, 


THE   NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  259 

more  rapidly  than  she  had  known  whites  to 
do  in  Massachusetts.  She  spoke  approvingly 
of  the  conduct  of  the  boys  and  girls,  and  de- 
clared that  the  negro  overseers  had  been  a 
success. 

Through  all  her  story,  however,  there  seemed 
to  run  a  note  of  insincerity.  Her  statements, 
both  in  sentiment  and  phrases,  were  too  much 
hke  those  of  the  manager  who  had  urged  me  to 
visit  the  mill  and  mention  it  in  the  New  York 
papers,  saying  frankly  that  he  hoped  a  notice 
would  bring  him  subscriptions  to  stock.  The 
success  of  the  mill  had  become  a  mania  with  him, 
and  no  opportunity  to  solicit  subscriptions  was 
lost.  But  he  no  longer  spoke  of  it  entirely  as 
a  business  proposition,  but  asked  aid  on  semi- 
philanthropic  grounds.  The  same  tendency 
had  been  observed  earher  by  the  late  Dr. 
Charles  B.  Spahr,  who  interviewed  him  in 
1899.' 

Coleman  continued  to  furnish  money  for 
running  expenses,  sacrificing  his  real  estate  for 

*  "America's  Working  People,"  p,  48. 


260      FROM   COTTON    FIELD   TO   COTTON   MILL 

the  purpose,  until  his  resources  were  exhausted. 
In  the  fall  of  1903  the  management  was  turned 
over  to  a  white  merchant  and  cotton  buyer  of 
the  town.  This  gentleman  introduced  several 
economies,  engaged  white  overseers,  and  made 
the  mill  pay  expenses  until  the  high  price  of 
cotton  in  the  spring  of  1904  made  further 
continuance  impossible.  Meanwhile  Coleman 
died  in  April,  1904,  and  in  June  the  mill  was 
sold  under  the  mortgage. 

An  examination  of  Coleman's  affairs  has 
shown  that  the  mill  owed  him  at  least  $12,000 
which  he  had  furnished  at  various  times, 
though  his  books  were  in  such  confusion  that 
the  exact  indebtedness  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained. Mr.  White,  who  had  charge  of  the  mill 
during  the  last  few  months  it  was  running, 
attributes  the  failure  to  the  machinery,  to  in- 
efficient management,  and  to  a  lack  of  working 
capital.  Full  production  could  not  be  secured 
from  the  worn  machinery;  but,  by  running 
slowly,  the  quahty  of  the  yarn  produced  was 
entirely  satisfactory  to  the  buyers,  and  regret 


THE    NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  261 

was  expressed  at  the  discontinuance  of  opera- 
tion. 

Coleman  had  gained  his  property  by  economy 
and  by  investing  his  surplus  in  additional  in- 
dependent units  of  the  same  kind.  With  the 
rents  from  his  houses,  he  built  other  houses. 
Close  collections  made  him  successful.  In  his 
store  he  kept  only  the  staple  groceries  for  which 
there  was  a  steady  demand.  When  greater 
problems  were  presented,  he  was  not  able  to 
meet  them.  When  profit  or  loss  hinged  upon 
the  purchase  of  cotton  on  a  certain  day  or  a 
month  afterward,  or  when  accepting  or  reject- 
ing a  contract  meant  success  or  failure,  his 
judgment  was  often  at  fault. 

Further,  his  attitude  toward  his  employees 
caused  friction.  The  negro  overseers  were  a 
failure.  They  were  inclined  to  magnify  their 
offices  and  to  show  favoritism.  In  the  exercise 
of  their  power,  they  were  sometimes  over- 
lenient,  but  oftener  overstrict,  and  docked 
the  operatives  on  every  opportunity.  In  this 
they  were  sustained  and  encouraged  by  Cole- 


262      FROM   COTTON  FIELD  TO   COTTON   MILL 

man,  who  seemed  to  consider  every  dime  thus 
saved  a  real  economy.  Their  overbearing 
disposition  caused  trouble,  as  it  is  proverbial 
that  negroes  will  resent  orders  from  one  of  their 
own  color,  which  would  be  obeyed  without 
question  if  they  came  from  a  white.  The 
money  needed  for  the  operation  of  the  mill 
was  furnished  in  small  sums  when  larger  amounts 
would  have  been  more  economical.  Neither 
cotton  nor  fuel  had  been  supplied  regularly. 
Often  the  mill  was  idle  for  hours  waiting  for  a 
supply  of  cotton  or  coal.  For  lack  of  other  fuel, 
the  bagging  from  the  cotton  bales  had  been 
burnt,  instead  of  being  sold  to  the  local 
ginners  to  be  used  again.  Wages  were  paid 
irregularly,  and  the  operatives  were  constantly 
changing. 

Mr.  White's  verdict  in  regard  to  the  labor  is, 
on  the  whole,  favorable.  While  a  large  number 
tested  proved  worthless,  other  women  and 
girls  were  able  to  do  efficient  work,  with  the 
slow  machinery,  and  developed  also  the  quahty 
of  faithfulness  and  regularity.    A  few  would 


THE  NEGRO  AS  A  COMPETITOR  263 

be  considered  good  average  operatives  in  any 
Southern  mill.  In  comparing  general  efficiency 
the  wages  paid  must,  however,  be  considered. 
While  the  white  spinners  in  the  town  received 
10  cents  to  12  J  cents  the  '^side,"  it  was  easy  to 
secure  negroes  at  5  or  6  cents.  At  this  rate  the 
best  spinners  made  about  $2.50  a  week.  The 
product  per  spindle  was  smaller,  of  course,  than 
in  the  mills  operated  by  white  labor.  The 
men  employed  were  not  so  satisfactory  as  the 
women.  Mr.  White  believes  that  with  favoring 
circumstances  a  mill  can  be  operated  success- 
fully with  white  overseers  and  negro  operatives. 
However,  he  says  that  he  would  not  attempt 
the  experiment  farther  South  where  the  negroes 
are  perhaps  less  inteUigent,  nor  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  city.^ 

It  is  clear,  then,  though  both  the  Charleston 
and  the  Concord  mills  failed,  that  no  verdict 
has  been  pronounced  against  negro  operatives 
so  long  as  low  wages  will  draw  them  to  the  mills. 
There  seems  to  be  httle  about  a  mill  which  the 

^  Interview,  1904. 


264      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 

negro  should  not  be  able  to  learn.  The  pro- 
cesses are  largely  mechanical,  and  the  difference 
between  a  good  operative  and  a  poor  one  is 
chiefly  a  question  of  care  and  dexterity.  The 
negro  is  not  by  nature  a  machinist,  but  indi- 
viduals can  deal  with  machinery.  The  memory 
of  a  negro  locomotive  fireman  who  did  the 
switching  in  the  freight  yards  of  a  town  where 
my  boyhood  was  spent  is  vivid  yet.  Negro 
firemen  and  engineers  of  stationary  plants 
are  not  uncommon.  Of  course  many  cannot 
comprehend  even  the  elements  of  mechanics, 
but  speaking  broadly  the  difficulty  with  negro 
operatives  is  not  an  intellectual  one. 

The  chief  failings  of  all  negro  labor  are  tem- 
peramental and  moral.  The  negroes  as  a  class 
do  not  work  except  under  direct  compulsion. 
They  do  not  like  monotonous  labor.  They  do 
not  Hke  to  be  alone  nor  to  engage  in  any  em- 
ployment where  they  cannot  communicate  with 
their  fellows.  In  the  small  Southern  tobacco 
factories,  the  negroes  talk  and  sing  at  their 
work  as  there  is  little  machinery  and  no  tension. 


THE   NEGRO   AS   A   COMPETITOR  265 

Whether  enough  negroes  are  to  be  found  in  a 
community  who  will  keep  up  the  monotonous 
routine  of  a  cotton  mill  week  after  week,  is  the 
question  to  be  solved.  The  negro  was  not  long 
enough  in  slavery  to  make  the  willingness  to 
work  instinctive.  He  has  not  been  long  enough 
out  of  slavery  to  develop  those  ambitions  which 
hold  one  to  distasteful  employment  for  the  sake 
of  ultimate  satisfaction.  Few  have  developed  a 
pride  in  doing  the  given  work  as  well  as  possible. 
The  negro  dislikes  to  work  regularly.  The 
employers  of  domestic  servants  are  necessarily 
liberal  with  '^afternoons  and  evenings  out." 
The  employers  of  negro  mechanics  must  allow 
numerous  absences.  Frequently  a  Northern 
born  employer  of  negroes  in  the  South,  who 
attempts  to  enforce  the  same  rules  that  he 
would  where  conditions  of  life  are  harder,  fails 
entirely,  when  a  Southerner  who  will  endure 
more,  succeeds,  partially  at  least,  in  getting 
work  done.  To  go  to  the  yearly  or  semi-yearly 
circus,  or  to  the  campmeeting,  sometimes  last- 
ing for  a  week  or  more,  to  attend  a  funeral 


266      FROM  COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON   MILL 

arrayed  in  the  gorgeous  uniform  of  his  lodge, 
are  some  of  the  negro's  passions. 

Perhaps  the  elevation  of  the  negro's  ideals 
of  citizenship  and  of  his  standards  of  Hfe  will 
enable  him  successfully  to  enter  the  employ- 
ments which  the  growing  scarcity  of  white 
labor  must  soon  open  to  him.  Some  negroes 
order  their  Uves  in  accordance  with  the  universal 
standards  of  good  citizenship;  but  there  is 
little  pressure  of  public  opinion  among  them  on 
any  question  not  directly  connected  with  par- 
tisan politics,  and  their  children  too  often 
revert  to  irresponsibility.  The  loafer  stands 
as  high  as  the  laborer.  Among  the  thoughtless 
his  position  is  often  higher,  for  he  wears  the 
cast-off  clothing  of  the  white  man,  and  appears 
better  than  the  laborer  in  overalls. 

Procuring  the  means  of  a  simple  existence 
is  too  easy  to  make  necessary  the  full  employ- 
ment of  strength  and  time.  Domestic  servants 
seldom  live  on  the  premises,  and  demand  the 
right  to  leave  when  the  evening  meal  is  over. 
Generally  they  consider  all  broken  or  left-over 


THE   NEGRO   AS  A   COMPETITOR  267 

victuals  their  perquisite.  A  white  family  with 
a  negro  cook  often  supports  from  one  to  five 
colored  persons,  besides  feeding  any  friend  who 
comes  to  the  kitchen  on  an  errand  or  to  visit. 
This  fact  helps  to  explain  the  number  of  loafers 
seen  upon  the  streets  of  any  Southern  town. 
They  are  supported  by  the  pilferings  of  a 
mother  or  sister,  wife  or  sweetheart,  and  a  few 
cents  gained  by  holding  a  horse,  carrying  a  note 
or  a  package,  furnish  tobacco  and  whisky. 
The  white  men  for  whom  they  do  some  httle 
services  turn  over  their  discarded  clothing,  and 
too  many  desire  httle  more. 

Economic  conditions  are  changing,  however. 
In  some  sections  white  servants  threaten  to 
displace  the  negro.  With  the  steadily  rising 
price  of  food  closer  watch  is  kept  on  the  pantry. 
The  relations  between  the  races  are  becoming 
more  and  more  a  matter  of  business,  and  the 
negro  must  work  or  become  an  habitual  crimi- 
nal. In  view  of  the  growing  demand  for 
labor,  a  stricter  enforcement  of  the  vagrancy 
laws  does  not  seem  unreasonable. 


268      FROM   COTTON   FIELD   TO    COTTON   MILL 

As  was  said  above,  the  right  of  the  negro 
to  work  has  been  unquestioned.  During  the 
operation  of  the  Coleman  mill  there  was  not 
the  sUghtest  friction,  and  no  prejudice  was 
exhibited  in  the  town  toward  the  white  over- 
seers. Such  a  condition  may  not  continue. 
If  the  negro  holds  his  place  in  other  industries, 
and  enters  the  textile  industry  before  a  white 
operative  class  develops  and  becomes  conscious 
of  itseK,  extension  of  that  employment  is  likely 
to  cause  a  httle  jar.  If  he  loses  his  industrial 
position,  and,  sometime  in  the  future,  after  the 
mill  operatives  have  become  organized,  at- 
tempts to  enter,  an  intense  race  conflict  may 
ensue.  With  the  organization  of  the  mill 
operatives,  the  relations  between  them  and  the 
operators  will  suffer  a  change.  A  conflict  hke 
that  at  Pana,  Illinois,  may  follow  the  attempt 
to  substitute  colored  for  white  labor,  on  account 
of  a  future  strike  or  lockout. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CONCLUSIONS 

We  have  now  traced  the  development  of  a 
state  from  a  collection  of  primitive  frontier 
communities  into  one  in  which  primitive  con- 
ditions and  somewhat  advanced  industrialism 
are  strangely  mingled.  We  have  seen  in  the 
same  neighborhood  the  oldest  methods  in  agri- 
culture and  the  most  elaborate  and  costly 
machinery  in  manufacturing;  the  unskilled 
laborer  and  the  expert  operative. 

A  century  ago  the  frugal  population  was 
almost  self-sufficient,  producing  practically  all 
that  it  consumed.  The  gradual  decay  of 
home  manufacturing,  and  the  increasing  de- 
pendence upon  other  sections  and  other  coun- 
ties, have  been  shown.  Then  with  the  destruc- 
tion and  demoralization  of  the  old  system,  we 
have  seen  a  belated  struggle  for  industrial 
position. 

269 


270   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

The  simple  country  people  who  have  always 
lived  close  to  the  soil  have  been  drawn  into  the 
mills  and  factories,  there  to  adjust  themselves 
to  a  new  environment.  This  process  of  ad- 
justment naturally  is  not  always  easy.  Neces- 
sarily it  is  often  gained  only  after  a  consider- 
able period,  and  then  with  pain  and  difficulty. 

Such  a  period  of  friction  is  not  peculiar  to 
the  section.  All  industrial  transitions  exhibit 
it  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  Perhaps  because 
of  the  personal  element  in  the  relations  with 
the  employers  it  is  less  pronounced  than  usual. 
The  tie  between  employer  and  employed  is  not 
at  first  a  class  relation,  and  the  growth  of  the 
class  idea  has  been  slow. 

The  general  conclusions  which  follow  from 
the  facts  set  forth  in  the  text  may  be  classified 
into  those  relating  (1)  to  the  industry  itself; 
(2)  to  the  employer;  (3)  to  the  operatives 
and  their  dependents;  (4)  to  the  state  as  a 
whole. 

Though  the  discussion  has  not  been  concerned 
with  the  purely  economic  side  of  production, 


CONCLUSIONS  271 

the  position  of  the  industry  may  be  thus  sum- 
marized :  — 

Mill  buildings  and  tenements  may  be  con- 
structed much  more  cheaply  than  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  cost  of  fuel  is  decidedly  less. 
Those  mills  which  procure  their  cotton  from 
their  immediate  neighborhood  save  in  freight 
charges ;  but  the  mills  which  must  send  to  the 
Gulf  states  for  their  raw  material  are  at  a  posi- 
tive disadvantage.  The  freight  on  the  cotton 
is  often  greater  than  the  New  England  mill 
pays,  and  the  freight  on  the  product  to  the 
point  of  distribution  is  additional  expense. 

The  labor  cost  has  been  less,  due  partly  to 
lower  money  wages,  partly  to  longer  hours, 
and  finally  to  the  absence  of  strikes  and  other 
forms  of  industrial  friction.  At  the  same  time 
the  necessity  of  employing  inefficient  labor,  or 
what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  —  a  dispro- 
portionate amount  of  labor  which  has  not  at- 
tained average  skill,  —  has  increased  the  cost  of 
production  above  the  point  which  the  lower 
rate  of  wages  would  indicate.    That  is,  full 


272   FROM  COTTON  FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

production  has  not  been  secured  from  the 
machinery.  Further,  the  rate  of  wages  is 
rising  and  hours  are  being  shortened. 

Heretofore  the  mills  have  been  engaged 
almost  entirely  upon  coarse  goods,  but  the 
tendency  toward  the  finer  grades  is  definitely 
marked.  That  the  South,  and  North  Carolina 
particularly,  should  gain  the  first  place  in  the 
industry  does  not  seem  absurd.  However, 
the  industry  is  so  strongly  intrenched  in  New 
England,  and  the  possibihties  of  foreign  trade 
so  immense,  that  the  industry  may  continue 
to  expand  in  both  sections.  If  one  section 
must  lose,  the  South  will  survive,  provided  that 
skill  in  management  is  equal. 

The  manufacturers  are  not  yet  economic 
entrepreneurs.  In  most  cases  they  were  not 
trained  in  cotton  mills,  but  entered  the  business 
after  succeeding  in  something  else.  Some  are 
shrewd  and  farsighted,  few  are  harsh  and 
despotic.  Their  success  has  been  due  more 
largely  to  general  business  experience,  and  to 
tact  in  the  management  of  their  employees. 


CONCLUSIONS  273 

than  to  wide  knowledge  of  the  cotton  business. 
At  times  it  has  been  almost  impossible  to  avoid 
making  profits.  Increasing  competition  will 
necessarily  ehminate  some  of  those  now  en- 
gaged in  mill  management. 

With  some  detail  and  repetition  that  part 
of  the  rural  population  from  which  operatives 
come  has  been  described.  Their  motives  for 
coming  have  been  analyzed,  and  their  life  around 
and  in  the  mills  has  been  discussed  at  length. 

The  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  the 
operatives  as  a  whole  and  not  a  few  unusual 
or  abnormal  examples.  We  have  seen  them  to 
be  honest,  simple,  and  uneducated,  but  capable 
of  development  and  training.  Emphasis  is 
laid  upon  the  fact  that  they  are  neither  de- 
graded nor  degenerate.  In  view  of  current 
misrepresentations,  this  fact  cannot  be  stated 
too  forcibly. 

In  regard  to  wages,  the  inevitable  conclusion 
must  be  that,  taking  everything  into  considera- 
tion, the  operatives  are  not  wretchedly  paid. 
While  the  wages  are  less  than  in  New  England, 


274      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO  COTTON  MILL 

the  demands  made  upon  the  wages  are  also  less. 
With  the  increased  reward  of  agricultural  labor 
during  the  past  five  years,  wages  in  the  mills 
have  risen  decidedly.  The  pay  is  greater  than 
in  other  local  occupations  open  to  those  of  no 
more  training  and  skill.  In  fact  the  difference 
in  favor  of  the  factory  is  so  great  that  only  the 
natural  inertia  of  a  rural  population  combined 
with  certain  social  disadvantages  of  factory 
labor  prevents  an  oversupply. 

Undoubtedly,  a  certain  disrepute  has,  in  the 
past,  attached  itself  to  factory  labor  in  some 
localities.  Perhaps  the  partial  surrender  of 
independence  necessary  has  been  responsible 
for  some  of  this  feeling.  Then,  too,  around 
some  mills  moral  conditions  have  not  been 
beyond  criticism. 

A  serious  disadvantage  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  student  of  social  welfare  is  the  tendency 
toward  the  destruction  of  family  hfe.  This  is 
particularly  true  when  the  mill  runs  both  night 
and  day,  and  the  family  is  divided.  Further, 
where  a  definite  part  of  the  family  income  is 


CONCLUSIONS  275 

directly  attributable  to  a  child,  and  that  part 
is  perhaps  greater  than  the  contribution  of  the 
parent,  the  natural  relation  of  parent  and  child 
tends  to  be  reversed. 

While  no  defense  of  the  employment  of  the 
child  has  been  attempted  or  intended,  the  extent 
has  been  shown  to  be  much  less  than  has  gen- 
erally been  supposed.  Moreover,  it  would  seem 
that  some  of  the  more  serious  phases  of  the 
problem  belong  to  the  transition  period,  and 
will  correct  themselves.  The  number  of  chil- 
dren employed  grows  less  comparatively  as  the 
years  pass. 

In  making  comparisons  with  other  sections 
in  regard  to  hours  of  labor,  employment  of 
children,  etc.,  it  is  only  just  to  consider  the 
suddenness  with  which  manufacturing  has  been 
introduced  into  a  society  distinctly  agricul- 
tural. Instead  of  comparing  present  condi- 
tions, it  is  fairer  to  compare  North  Carolina 
to-day  with  those  sections  when  they  were  in 
the  same  stage  of  industrial  development. 

The  problem  of  enriching  the  lives  of  these 


276      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON   MILL 

people  is  still  unsolved.  The  church  is  not  hold- 
ing its  own,  and  no  other  social  agency  is  taking 
its  place.  There  is  Uttle  around  the  factory 
village  to  develop  the  aesthetic  and  spiritual 
element.  The  daily  hfe  is,  to  a  large  extent, 
a  round  of  toil,  relieved  only  by  physical  pleas- 
ures. The  large  proportion  of  iUiteracy,  of 
course,  increases  the  difficulty,  and  without 
compulsory  school  attendance  a  decrease  will 
be  slow.  A  comprehensive  scheme  of  efficient 
agencies  for  social  betterment  remains  to  be 
developed. 

The  unusual  relations  between  employer  and 
employed  heretofore  existing  have  broken  the 
shock  between  the  fife  on  the  farm  and  at  the 
mill.  These  relations,  however,  are  passing 
away  as  the  employer  grows  more  '' business- 
like," and  the  operative  loses  his  rural  habit 
of  mind.  A  class  consciousness  is  slowly 
developing  among  the  workers,  and  the  results 
will  be  momentous. 

Whether  future  difficulties  between  the  em- 
ployer and  employed  will  result  in  the  intro- 


CONCLUSIONS  277 

duction  of  negro  labor  into  the  mills,  depends 
upon  factors  not  purely  economic.  For  a  mill 
to  discharge  white  operatives  and  introduce 
negroes  would  be  a  dangerous  experiment 
from  a  social  standpoint.  With  the  increasing 
scarcity  of  white  labor  due  to  more  prosperous 
conditions  in  other  industries,  a  new  mill  might 
begin  with  negro  operatives.  The  operatives 
must,  however,  be  all  white  or  all  negro.  In 
the  present  state  of  the  public  mind,  indis- 
criminate employment  is  unthinkable.  All 
these  possibilities  depend,  however,  upon  the 
yet  unproved  capacity  of  the  negro  for  such 
employment. 

These  tremendous  problems  of  the  industrial 
change  have  influenced  the  state  as  a  whole. 
Yet  since  they  have  appeared  gradually,  some 
may  deny  any  change.  The  student  of  social 
phenomena  recognizes  the  decay  of  old  ideals 
and  the  substitution  of  new.  Political  theories 
and  prejudices,  social  customs  and  standards, 
ethical  and  religious  values,  are  all  affected. 
Nevertheless    through  all  this  confusion  the 


278      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON   MILL 

influence  of  the  old  life  unexpectedly  persists, 
and  strange  inconsistencies  appear.  The  state 
has  not  yet  found  itself;  has  not  yet  adjusted 
its  agricultural  philosophy  to  industrial  condi- 
tions. 


APPENDIX  A 

TABLE   OF   WEEKLY   WAGES    ACTUALLY    PAID    IN 
A   NORTH   CAROLINA   TOWN,    1906 


Picker  Room 

Spoolers  $4.50  to  $6.00 

Opener  ,     .     .     . 
Picker  hand    .     . 

$6.00 
6.00 

Twisters     .     .     . 
Warper  .... 

4.80 
7.50 

Card  hand  .     .     . 

6.00 

Spinning  overseer 

15.00 

Boss  carder     .     . 

12.00 

Section  hand  .     . 

7.50 

Twisting  overseer 

7.50 

Spinning  Room 

Drawing       frame 
hands      .     .     .     6.00 

Band  boy   .     .     . 
Sweepers    .     .     . 
Oiler  and  bander . 

3.00 
4.50 
4.50 

Slubber  hands 
Intermediate 

6.00 

Weaving  Room 

hands      .     .     . 

6.00 

Filler     .... 

4.50 

Speeder  hands 

6.00 

Creelers.     .     .     . 

4.50 

Spinners  (12^0.  to 

Beam  warper  .     . 

6.60 

15c.  per  side)   . 

3.00 

Slasher  tender 

7.50 

Doffers  .... 

3.00 

Drawing-in  girls  . 

7.50 

Head  Doffer    .     . 

3.60 

Weavers  ($3  to  $9) 

5.40 

279 


280      FROM   COTTON   FIELD  TO   COTTON  MILL 


Finishing  Room 

Calendar-i 
Folder 


Baler 


two 
men 


f$6.00 
4.50 


Weave  boss  .     .  $15.00 
Section  bosses    .      9.00 


Engineer  .     .     .       9.00 
Firemen    .    6.00  to  7.50 


APPENDIX  B 
Prices  in  Massachusetts  and  North  Carolina 


Massachusetts 

North  Cakolina 

Aeticle 

1897 

1903 

1897 

1903 

Flour,  Superfine,  bbl. 

$6.62J 

$5.20 

$6.00 

$5.00 

Flour,  Family,  bbl. 

5.80 

4.69 

5.00 

4.50 

Meal,  lb. 

.03 

.03 

.014 

.02 

Rice,  lb. 

.07? 

.08 

.081 

.084 

Tea,  lb. 

.461 

.54 

.50 

.50 

Coffee,  Rio,  lb. 

.3U 

.22 

.12i 

.15 

Coffee,  Roasted,  lb. 

.28 

.27 

.15 

15 

Sugar,  Coffee,  lb. 

.041 

.05J 

.05 

.064 

Sugar,  Gran.,  lb. 

.05J 

.051 

.064 

.07 

Molasses,  N.  0.,  gal. 

.50 

.49i 

.50 

.50 

Molasses,  P.  R.,  gal. 

.49J 

.47 

.50 

.40 

Syrup,  gal. 

.52? 

.491 

.35 

.50 

Soap,  lb. 

.044 

.05J 

.05 

.05 

Starch,  lb. 

.07i 

.08 

.074 

.10 

Meats 

Beef,  Roast,  lb. 

.141 

.m 

.08 

.10 

Beef,  Soup,  lb. 

.05f 

.07 

.05 

.05 

Beef,  Steak,  lb. 

.25? 

.28 

.10 

.124 

Veal,  ForeQrtr.,  lb. 

.08 

.101 

.05 

.05 

Veal,  Hind  Qrtr.,  lb. 

.125 

.154 

.07 

.07 

Mutton,  Fore  Qrtr.,lb. 

mi 

.101 

.08 

.084 

Mutton,  Leg,  lb. 

.Hi 

.164 

.10 

.10 

Mutton,  Chops,  lb. 

.20 

.214 

.10 

.15 

Pork,  Fresh,  lb. 

.10 

.14 

.05-.10 

.10 

Pork,  Salted,  lb. 

.095 

.124 

.074 

.10 

Hams,  lb. 

.13i 

.13J 

.12 

.14 

Shoulders,  lb. 

.09 

.10 

.11 

.13 

Sausage,  lb. 

.lo; 

.12i 

.10 

.10 

Lard,  lb. 

.08 

.134 

.084 

.10 

Butter,  lb. 

.241 

.304 

.15 

.18 

Cheese,  lb. 

.14 

.16 

.174 

.20 

281 


282      FROM    COTTON   FIELD   TO   COTTON   MILL 

APPENDIX  B  (Continued) 
Prices  in  Massachusetts  and  North  Carolina 


Mabsachttsetts         I 

North  Carolina 

Akticle 

1897 

1902 

1897 

1903 

Vegetables 

Potatoes,  White,  bu. 

$1.01i 

$1.14J 

$0.70 

50.75 

Potatoes,  Sweet,  bu. 

.60 

.50 

Milk,  qt. 

.051 

.06J 

.05 

.05 

Eggs,  doz. 

.23J 

.211 

.12k 

.125 

Board,      Men,       per 

week 

4.62 

3.91 

1.50 

1.50 

Board,   Women,   per 

week 

3.66 

3.34 

1.50 

1.50 

Fuel 

Coal,  Hard,  ton 

6.00 

6.651 

4.50 

4.50 

Wood,  Hard,  cord 

8.41J 

8.25 

1.60 

1.75 

Wood,  Pine,  cord 

6.97 

6.79i 

1.50 

1.60 

Dry  Goods 

Shirting,  4-4  Brown, 

yd. 

.08i 

.061 

.05i 

.07i 

Shirting,  4-4 

Bleached,  yd. 

.08i 

.081 

.06 

.10 

Sheeting,                    ] 

9-8  Brown,  yd. 

.091 

.16 

.09 

.10 

Sheeting,                    | 

9-8  Bleached,  yd.  J 

Cotton  Flannel,  yd. 

.10 

.lOi 

.09 

.10 

Ticking,  yd. 

.11 

.131 

.12i 

.12i 

Prints,  yd. 

.05i 

.06 

.05 

.06J 

Shoes,  Men's 

2.05J 

1.99i 

1.50 

1.50 

Rent 

4-Room  Tenements 

8.631 

12.14 

3.00 

4.00 

fi-Room  Tenements 

11.61 

19.30 

4.00 

6.00 

APPENDIX  C 

Comparison  of  Prices  of   Selected  Commodities  in  Similar 
Towns  in  Connecticut  and  North  Carolina,  April,  1904 


Abtiolb 

Conn. 

N.  0. 

Article 

Conn. 

N.  0. 

Flour,  bbl. 

$6.25 

j  $5.50 
j    6.50 

Hams,  lb. 
Shoulders,  lb. 

$0.15 
.11 

$0.15 
.11 

Meal,  lb. 

.05 

.02 

Sausage,  lb. 

.14 

.12i 

Rice,  lb. 

.07i 

.08i 

Lard,  lb. 

.lOi 

.10 

Tea,  lb. 

.50 

.50 

Coffee,  lb. 

.30 

.15 

Fuel 

Sugar,  Coffee,  lb. 

.05 

.061 

Coal,  Soft,  ton 

5.60 

3.76 

181b. 

16  lb. 

Wood,  Hard,  cord 

10.00 

2.00 

Sugar,  Gran.,  lb. 

for 

$1.00 

for 

$1.00 

Wood,  Soft,  cord 

7.00 

1.75 

MolasseSjN.  0.,  gal. 

.55 

.50 

Dry  Goods 

Molasses,  P.  R.,  gal. 

.43 

.40 

Shirting, 

Syrup,  gal. 

.55 

.50 

Unbleached, yd. 

.12i 

.10 

Butter,  lb. 

.22 

.15 

Shirting, 

Cheese,  lb. 

.15i 

.20 

Bleached,  yd. 

.15 

.12 

Milk,  qt. 

.06 

.05 

Sheeting, 

.12h 

Unbleached,yd. 

.08 

.10 

Eggs,  doz. 

.31 

to 

Sheeting, 

.15 

Bleached,  yd. 

.10 

.12 

Potatoes,  bu. 

.95 

1.00 

Cotton     Flannel, 

yd. 

.08 

Mi 

Meats 

Prints,  yd. 

.07 

.061 

Beef,  Roast,  lb. 

.16 

.10 

Shoes 

1.76 

1.50 

Beef,  Soup,  lb. 

.08 

.05 

Beef,  Steak,  lb. 

.18 

.12i 

Rent 

Veal,  Fore  Qrtr.,  lb. 

.11 

.06 

4-Rooni   Tene- 

Veal, Hind  Qrtr.,  lb. 

.20 

.08 

ments,  wk. 

1.10 

1.00 

Mutton,  Fore  Qrtr., 

6-Room   Tene- 

lb. 

.10 

.10 

ments,  wk. 

2.00 

1.50 

Mutton,  Leg,  lb. 
Pork,  Fresh,  lb. 

.16 
.14 

.12^ 
.10 

Board  and          J 

2.00 
to 

1.50 

Pork,  Salt,  lb. 

.14 

.10 

Lodging           I 

3.00 

283 


APPENDIX  D 


Weekly  Wages  paid  in  Seven  North  Carolina  Mills,  1904 


Occupation 


Rate  per 
Week 


Occupation 


Rate  peb 

W  BEK 


Picker  Room 

Opener 
Picker  Hand 
Card  Hand 
Boss  Carder 

Spinning  Room 
Drawing  Frame 
Slubber  Hands 
Intermediate  Hands 
Speeder  Hands 
Spinners,  $1.20  to  $6 
Doffer,  Head 
Doffers 
Spoolers 
Twisters 
Warpers 

Overseer  of  Spinning 
Section  Hand 
Overseer  of  Twisting 
Band  Boys 
Sweepers 
Oiler  and  Bander 


$4.50 
5.10 
4.50 

12.00 


4.50 
5.40 
6.40 
4.50 
3.001 
3.60 
2.40 
4.00 
4.80 
7.50 
10.50 
7.00 
7.00 
2.50 
3.60 
3.60 


Weaving  Room 

Filler 
Creelers 
Beam  Warper 
Slasher  Tender 
Drawing-in  Girls 
Weavers,  $2.50  to  9 

Finishing  Room 

Calendar  1 
Folder        1-  2  men 
Baler         J 
Weave  Boss 
Section  Bosses 

Engineer 

Firemen 


$3.90 
4.00 
4.50 
6.00 
6.00 
5.401 


(6.00 
(4.50 

15.00 
8.40 
[7.50 
^  to 
L9.00 
6.00 


1  On  account  of  variations  in  number  and  skill  of  these  operatives 
the  exact  average  wage  is  seldom  the  same  for  two  successive  weeks. 


284 


Holland  Thompson  was  bom  on  the  plan- 
tation of  his  grandfather  in  Randolph  County, 
North  Carolina,  July  30,  1873.  He  was  pre- 
pared for  college  by  his  father,  and,  after 
teaching  two  years  in  the  rural  schools,  en- 
tered the  University  of  North  Carolina  with 
advanced  standing  in  1892,  and  was  gradu- 
ated in  1895  with  special  honors  in  English 
and  History.  For  four  years  he  was  principal 
of  the  academy  at  Concord,  North  Carolina, 
but  resigned  to  accept  a  fellowship  in  Political 
Economy  in  Columbia  University.  His  minor 
subjects  were  Sociology  and  American  History, 
and  the  degree  of  A.M.  was  conferred  in  1900. 
In  1901  he  became  tutor  in  History  in  the 
College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  was 
made  instructor  in  1902.  He  has  published  : 
"The  Tuscarora  Conspiracy  in  Carolina," 
National  Magazine  of  History,  January,  1894; 
"  Some  Log  Colleges  in  North  Carolina,"  Pres- 
})yterian  Quarterly,  January,  1900 ;  "  Life  in 
a    Southern    Mill    Town,"    Political    Science 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 


Quarterly,  March,  1900;  "Some  Effects  of 
Industrialism  on  an  Agricultural  State,"  South 
Atlantic  Quarterly,  January,  1905.  He  con- 
tributed to  the  New  International  Encyclo- 
pedia and  to  Nelson's  Encyclopedia,  and  for 
a  time  was  on  the  staff  of  Current  Literature. 


